Return of the Cahills
by KTRose12
Summary: Three years have gone by since the clue hunt. Amy and Dan are living a normal, boring life. But then they get a letter that changes everything... Note: This story has nothing to do with Vespers Rising, or any books that will follow.
1. Chapter 3

**I'm not Rick Riordan or any of the other epic writers of the 39 Clues series. I do not own the 39 Clues.**

Mrs. Hardy was giving a trig class to the juniors one Wednesday morning in early February. None of the kids were really listening.  
>Seventeen-year-old Amy Cahill sat in the back of the class, her math book propped up in front of her and a biography of Winston Churchill in her lap.<br>When the final bell rang, she gathered her books and walked out the door—right into Stephanie Turner and her posse.

"Hey, nerd," Stephanie said, bumping into Amy and sending her books flying. "How _are_ you doing?"

Amy picked up her books and stood up. "Excuse me," she said coolly to Stephanie.

Stephanie stepped aside with exaggerated politeness, and then stuck out her foot to trip Amy as she walked by.

Three years ago, Amy would've tripped over that foot. Now, she simply stepped over it and walked down the hall.  
>Amy Cahill had always had trouble with bullies—it just took one thing to change how she dealt with them.<br>It was all because of the clue hunt.

Amy ran down the front steps of the high school and raced across the soccer field to the middle school. She reached the front steps of the middle school just as the final bell rang. Kids streamed out of the front doors, and the clatter of a skateboard told Amy that her brother was out.

Fourteen-year-old Dan rode his skateboard down the ramps on the side of the steps, and kick flipped at the bottom. "Hey," he said to Amy. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Amy said, walking with him down the street towards their apartment. "Just Stephanie Turner."

"_Again_?" Dan hopped onto his skateboard and slowly cruised next to her. "Why didn't you use those wushu moves I showed you?" he demanded.

Amy shook her head. "I don't think kung-fu will work on Stephanie Turner," she said.

"Sure it will!" Dan said as they turned onto their street. "All you have to do it make a few kicks and the creampuff will run away screaming!"

Amy laughed as she fished her key out of her purse. "That's very Madrigal of you, Dan," she said as they reached the door to their apartment house. "I thought we were supposed to be discouraging violence?" She put the key in the lock and they walked in.

"But in this case, the violent approach is the only way to go!" Dan argued, picking up his skateboard as they climbed the stairs.

Amy just shook her head at him as they entered their apartment. Something smelled really good. "Nellie?" Amy called.

"Hey, kiddos!" Nellie called from the kitchen. She walked in, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "My class was canceled, so I came home and did some cooking." She headed back to the kitchen. "Oh, there's a letter for you two on the table in the den," she called over her shoulder.

Amy and Dan raced into the den. Dan grabbed the letter first, but Amy snatched it out of his hand and ripped it open. "Who's it from?" Dan asked, grabbing the envelope. He read the return address. "It's from Mr. McIntyre!" he exclaimed, and Amy read the letter out loud:

_Dear Amy and Dan,_  
><em>I am sorry I haven't contacted you for a while, but I felt it was best for you to rest and have normal lives for a short while before continuing work for the Cahills.<em>

"He calls three years a short while?" Dan asked. Amy shushed him and continued:

_It is time, now, to restart your work for the Madrigals and the rest of the family. As I told you three years ago after you exited the gauntlet, there is a completely different family set on taking over the world. The Cahills are the only family that can stop them. It is up to you two, and the others, to begin what may become a battle between the two families._  
><em>I will contact you again shortly. Meanwhile, your associates will be arriving in Boston, February 12th.<em>

"Associates? What?" Dan asked. Amy shrugged. "I don't know," she said, "but tomorrow's the 12th." She finished the letter:

_I look forward to seeing you two soon._  
><em>Sincerely,<em>  
><em>William McIntyre<em>

Amy and Dan looked at each other. "What the...?" Dan started.

Amy shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "But...I guess we're going to find out soon."


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Amy walked down the wall towards her bedroom. "Amy?" Dan called from his room. Amy poked her head through his door. "Yeah?"  
>"Where's Uncle Fiske?"<p>

Amy sighed. "I'm not sure," she said. "He said he was going on Madrigal business, and would only be gone a few days."

"But it's been two weeks!" Dan exclaimed.

Amy walked over and sat on his bed. "I know," she said, "but maybe he's just undercover and can't contact us right now. I'm sure he's okay."

She paused, and then continued, "Mr. McIntyre said he'll see us soon. Maybe he knows where Uncle Fiske is."

Dan sighed. "Won't it be nice to get away from boring school life, and get back to..."

"Mortal peril, bodily damage, and terrifying escapes?" Amy finished for him with a wry smile.

"I was going to say, going back to being, I don't know, us."

Amy silently agreed with her brother. On the clue hunt, they had been more like themselves then ever since their parents had died.  
>She stood up and smoothed down his hair. "Goodnight, Danny," she said, using his childhood nickname.<p>

"Goodnight Amy," Dan yawned.

Amy silently crept out of the room and went into her room across the hall. She crawled into bed and sighed. Tomorrow, things were going to be a lot different.

Amy and Dan walked/skateboarded down the street the next morning. There was a stalled car at the end of the street, and cars were backed up all the way down. So they decided to cut down an alleyway that, Dan assured Amy, would take them straight to the school.  
>As they turned a corner of the alley, they ran into a group of tough-looking gangster wanna-bees who were smoking and fighting with each other.<p>

They did _not_ look like good news.

Amy grabbed Dan's arm, and they started to slowly back up.  
>Suddenly, one of the guys who was smoking looked up. "Well, look-ee here," he drawled. "Two little kiddies lost their way."<br>"What are you doing here, kid?" another asked Dan. "You running off with your girlfriend?"

Dan started to cough violently. Amy's face turned red. "H-he's my b-brother!" she stammered. One of the girls smirked. "T-that's n-nice," she mocked. "Got any cash, kid?" Dan and Amy shook their heads quickly. Too quickly.

"Search 'em," one of the guys ordered.  
>"Dan, run!" The two Cahills turned to make a break for it, but one of the teenagers were blocking their way. Another grabbed Amy from behind. Amy screamed.<p>

"Wushu, Amy!" Dan shouted, sailing a punch towards the guy who was blocking their way. Amy jerked her elbow back into her captor's stomach, making him double over. She jerked free, and ran to help Dan.

The other older teenagers had jumped up by this point. Dan jumped and kicked one of them in the chest, sending him down. Amy swung her backpack at one of the girls, knocking her to the ground.

But four more had surrounded them. Amy felt Dan's backpack against her back. She knew that it was two late just to give these punks some money. They were out for blood.

A guy spit on the ground and pulled a sharp switchblade out of his pocket. He leered at the siblings. "Not so brave now, huh?' he asked. He rubbed his eye, which was starting to turn purple from the punch Dan had landed on him. "You and your..._mushu_."

Amy snorted despite herself. Dan spoke, "Uh, actually, it's _wushu_. Mushu is a type of pork."

Um, _wrong_ thing to say. The guy with the switchblade moved towards Dan.

Out of nowhere, one of the other teenagers went flying into the switchblade dude, sending them both to the ground. Another guy grabbed Dan's arm. Almost immediately, the guy was yanked off of Dan, and he flew into a brick wall.

Dan whirled around. Madison Holt smirked at him. "Hey, Dan. 'Sup?" she asked, going to make sure her victim was unconscious.  
>Two of the guys jumped at Amy. Hamilton Holt appeared behind them and slammed their heads together. They fell in a heap to the ground.<p>

Dan whooped. "Sweet!"

The rest of the teenagers who were still conscious looked at each other, then ran away. But the guy with the switchblade was on his feet again, and he was headed for Dan.

A brick sailed over Dan's head and nailed the guy in the face. He crumbled to the ground, his knife skittering across the pavement.

Reagan Holt looked at the guy with amazement. Another brick was already in her hand. "Jeez," she said, "it only took one to knock him out!" She snorted. "What a wimp."

Dan was speechless. For a minute. "What are you guys doing here?" he exclaimed.

Madison rolled her eyes. "You're _welcome_."

"Um, thanks," Amy said, looking down at the switchblade guy warily, expecting him to jump up again any second. "And...what _are_ you doing here?"

Hamilton was dragging unconscious bodies over by the dumpsters. He straightened and dusted off his hands. "We got a call from Mr. McIntyre," he said. "He told us we were needed here."

Dan's mouth dropped. "How did Mr. McIntyre know we were gonna get jumped this morning?" he cried. "I didn't even know I was gonna come here until we got here, and..."

Amy elbowed her brother. "He means they were needed in Boston, dweeb. Not right here, right now."

"Well, technically, you did need us, right here, right now," Madison said, kicking one of the guys on the ground. "You're lucky we took the late-night flight so we could get here this morning. If we didn't show up..." She trailed off.

Amy shivered. She didn't want to think about what might have happened if the Holts hadn't shown up when they did.

Dan's eyes suddenly lit up like he had just discovered the meaning of life. "Amy!" he exclaimed. "Mr. McIntyre said our _associates_ would be arriving today."  
>He turned to the Holts. "You're our associates!"<p>

"Um...okay," Reagan said slowly.

"To tell you the truth," Hamilton said, "we barely know anything about why we had to come here. We were just told to take a plane to Boston and find you two."

"Are your parents here?" Dan asked, looking around as if he expected Eisenhower and Mary-Todd Holt to appear behind their children.

Madison smirked. "Nope," she said. "Specific instructions from Mr. McIntyre–just us three were to come. Not our parents."

Hamilton grinned. "Dad almost threw a tantrum when he found out he had to stay at home."

Amy and Dan didn't laugh. They didn't want to picture an angry Eisenhower Holt.

Suddenly, Amy heard a school bell ring in the distance. "School!" she exclaimed. "Dan, we're going to be late!"

"We better get going, then," Hamilton said, starting down the alleyway.

"Whoa," Dan said. "_We_?"

Hamilton paused and turned. "Yeah," he said. "Mr. McIntyre registered us at your schools here."

Madison crossed her arms. "You better have good cafeteria food," she said, as if Dan could control the quality of his school's cafeteria food.

Dan shrugged. "Okay. Let's go."

He ran down the alleyway, the twins close behind him.

Hamilton looked at Amy. "C'mon," he said. "We don't want to be late." He started after his sisters and Dan.

"That's the least of my problems right now," Amy muttered, jogging after him. Because she knew that Mr. McIntyre wouldn't send _just _the Holts. More associates were coming.

And she had a feeling who they were.

**Okay, this is my first published fanfic here, and I waited a few day to get reviews for the first chapter** **before I realized that** **they probably weren't coming. PLEASE review! I need to know if people are actually reading this! Suggestions are always welcome. I've already written a lot of the story on my iPod, so I'm just posting the chapters on here in intervals, but I can ALWAYS change something if I get a good suggestion. So, again, PLEASE review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 1

The five kids entered the main office. The Holts had to sign in and get their schedules. Reagan and Dan were in the same homeroom, and Madison was in the class across from them. The three left the office, Dan with a pained expression on his face when he was reminded that he's have P.E with the two girls later on that day.

Hamilton got put in Amy's homeroom, so the two of them walked through the hallways, stopping at their lockers.  
>Amy dumped her backpack into her locker, scanning the faces of the kids streaming by for a long-lost face from the clue hunt, years ago. She didn't see anyone unusual, so she and Hamilton walked to homeroom.<p>

"Well...my name is Hamilton Holt. I'm in eleventh grade...well, I guess you already knew that...and I like to work out..."

"We already knew that too," someone snickered from the back of the room.

But no one else seemed to care about Hamilton's less-than-perfect public speaking skills. They were too busy gawking at his enormous bulk. Even Amy was amazed. Hamilton had grown three times his size since she had last seen him.

Hamilton finally sat down. The homeroom teacher took attendance, and then the bell rang to move to first period. Amy had science and Hamilton had math, so they split ways. Amy walked down the hall to her science class.

Science was uneventful—not counting the mini-explosion that Toby Warbeck and Joshua McGuire caused when they dropped their containers of chemicals into the sink. When the bell rang, Amy walked out of class—and there was Stephanie again.

"Hello, Amy," Stephanie said sweetly. "I don't believe we got to finish out little talk yesterday." The other girls snickered. Amy didn't say anything, but in her head she heard Dan's voice saying, "Kung-Fu, Amy, Kung-Fu!"

Stephanie shoved her. "Hey, I was talking to you, freak," she said, "How do you expect to get a boyfriend when you act so dumb?"

Amy was about to retort that she didn't even want a boyfriend, and even might have tried some Kung Fu on Stephanie, if a silky voice hadn't said behind her, "I don't think that Amy appreciates being called a freak."

Amy's heart stopped. Literally. It just stopped beating for one, two, three seconds. She slowly turned around.

It was Ian Kabra.

She couldn't speak. She had beaten her stuttering problem a year and a half ago, but seeing Ian for the first time in three years brought her silent stuttering back, full force.

Ian smiled, and memories came rushing back to Amy—memories she wished she could forget.

Great. Just what she needed right now.

She heard Stephanie stuttering behind her. Apparently, Amy wasn't the only one with a stuttering problem when it came to Ian Kabra. Eyes still locked on Ian, Amy felt Stephanie push her out of the way. The bully slimmed up to Ian. "Hey there," she flirted, "What's your name?"

Ian raised an eyebrow at her, not fooled by her sudden change of attitude. "Ian Kabra," he said. "I'm a friend of Amy's."

Amy choked down a snort of derision. Oh, the irony! Stephanie glared at Amy. "That little nobody?" Stephanie laughed, lightly smacking Ian's arm. "You are _so_ funny!"

Amy expected Ian to laugh along with her, or at least agree that this was all a big joke. The last thing she expected him to do was slip his arm around her waist and say, "This 'little nobody' is ten times smarter than all of you idiots put together. Now of you'll excuse us—the bell's about to ring." Ian guided Amy past Stephanie and down the hall.

When they turned the corner, Amy shook herself away. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, not wanting to be overheard by Stephanie. She already knew why he was there, but asked for two reasons—1. Because she wanted to hear his story, and 2. She had absolutely no idea what else to say.

Ian leaned against the wall. "Hello to you too," he said teasingly.

"Why are you here?" Amy repeated. Ian shrugged. "McIntyre transferred us here," he said. Amy noticed how deeper his voice had gotten, and then inwardly scolded herself for noticing.

Ian continued, "He said something about working as a team again," he said, and then looked at her expectantly.

Amy had to admit, after Ian and Natalie left their mother, she hated Ian a little less. She realized that everything he had done was influenced by his mother. But she wasn't ready to entirely trust him. Not yet.

"I know way too much about working on a team with you," Amy said coolly, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to English class." She started walking away. Ian caught up with her.

"Well, what a coincidence!" he said, but the look on his face showed that it was no coincidence. "I have English too." Amy groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long day.

Dan was sitting in the back of his Geometry class, ignoring the teacher and doodling in his notebook, when the classroom door swung open. The whole class turned to watch a girl dressed in very fashionable clothes walk into the room. Dan was the only one who ignored the girl and continued doodling. The teacher looked over.

"Oh, you must be the new student," she said, turning off the projector and walking around her desk, "Natalie..."  
>"Kabra," the girl finished, her smooth British accent surprising the teacher and most of the students.<br>Dan's head snapped up. He locked eyes with Natalie, who smirked at him. Dan groaned and put his head down on his desk. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Amy sat down at her usual table in the back of the cafeteria and pulled out her lunch. Nellie had made her a chef salad—with lettuce, tomatoes, ham, cheese, cucumbers, etc. She stirred it around a bit with her fork, and then put the fork down—she wasn't very hungry.

Hamilton appeared at her shoulder. "Hiding from someone?" he teased, sitting across from her.

Amy blushed. "I always sit here!" she said.

Hamilton unwrapped his hamburger and took a bite. "Iz ogy, a thaw im do tu."

"What?"

Hamilton swallowed. "It's okay, I saw him too," he repeated, "He was in my science class last period."

Amy considered defending herself, and then gave up. Hamilton wasn't trying to accuse her of anything—in fact, he seemed to be on her side. "He seems better now, not as snobby. He actually helped a girl pick up her books when she dropped them."

"Wow," Amy said in surprise. The old Ian Kabra would've just walked away. Maybe he had changed.

Hamilton shrugged. "Of course, the girl was hot. I mean, _really_ hot. I almost helped her myself."

Okay, forget what she said about him being changed.

Hamilton looked over her shoulder. "Duck!" he whispered. Amy's instincts took over, and she ducked her head down.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Cobra at one-o'clock," Hamilton hissed.

"Ham, I don't understand army lingo."

"He just left the lunch line. I think he's looking for someone."

"Oh, jeez."

Hamilton stood up. "I'll get him off the scent," he said, and he strode across the cafeteria.

Amy let out a breath and waited.

Hamilton was soon back. "He was looking for you," he said, slipping into his seat and taking another bite out of his hamburger.

Amy sat up. "What? Why?"

Hamilton shrugged. "I don't know. I just said hi to him and he asked me if I knew where you were. I told him you were at the library." He grinned. "I'm not the world's best liar, but it's a pretty believable story."

Amy smiled. "Thanks, Ham," she said, taking a bite of her salad, "I owe you one."

"Or two," he joked. Amy grimaced. "Yeah, I try not to think about those times," she said.

Hamilton was silent for a minute. "Do you think it's possible that he just wants to make it up to you?" he asked.

It took Amy a moment to realize who he was talking about. She shrugged. "I know he was under his mother's influence all those times, but..." She sighed. "I'm just not ready to trust him yet."

Hamilton finished his hamburger. "Well," he said, standing up as the bell rang, "if he ever gives you any trouble, just let me know, and I'll beat him up for you."

Amy laughed. "Thanks, Hamilton," she said.

**And that's Chapter Three. I just wanted to thank and respond to the people who reviewed:**

**PJOTKCLucian13: I have the same feeling :-). Thanks so much!**

**SqueakyDolphin6: So sorry about the confusion with the title! To everyone: If anyone has an idea for a better title (because I totally agree that _Return of the Cahills _is overdone), I'm open for suggestions! As for the summary, I tried doing a longer one, but you probably know that there's limited space. I'll try to spice it up if I can. Thanks so much for your suggestions!**

**Sleepy Clouds: After I published my second chapter, I suddenly realized that it was very hard to read all bunched together. I edited the chapters, but for some reason it's not changed at all. Am I supposed to publish the chapter again? Sorry, as I said before, this is my first time publishing something. Hopefully this chapter was easier to read.**

**CloverThyne: Thank you so much! I'm not going to give anything away, but I'll definately keep your suggestions in mind!**

**Please keep reviewing!** **Thanks, everyone! -KT**


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, kids, listen up!" Coach Radley yelled, "Today we're playing dodge ball! Cahill and Jackson, you two are team captains. Jackson, you pick first!"

Troy Jackson smirked at Dan. He immediately picked the biggest kid in the gym. "If you pick any of my friends, Cahill, you're dead," he said to Dan.

Dan shrugged, then said, "I pick Reagan."

Troy laughed. "The new girl? She doesn't look like she could throw a feather! You're so gonna loose, loser."

Dan and Reagan looked at each other and grinned. Troy picked another one of his giant friends, and Dan picked Madison. After that, Dan picked all of the kids who always got beat up by Troy Jackson and his gang. Troy got all of the huge guys who looked like they ate rocks.

Coach Radley blew his whistle. Almost immediately, half of Troy's team got knocked out by balls thrown by Madison and Reagan. The rest of the team got hit by balls thrown by the other kids on Dan's team, who were too dumbstruck to realize that they were standing targets. Dan even had the pleasure of knocking Troy out himself.

The game was over in thirty seconds. Dan high-fived the twins. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Amy spent the rest of her day avoiding Ian Kabra. Sure, it was annoying to be constantly checking over her shoulder and peeking around corners all day, but she had to admit, it was a lot more exciting than her regular routine. It reminded her of being in the clue hunt. Of course, back then, Ian wanted to kill her. Well, maybe not kill her, but defiantly sabotage her. Now...now she had absolutely no idea why she was avoiding him, but it felt good to have a mission, even if it was as small as avoiding Ian Kabra.

Much to her relief, Ian wasn't in any of her other classes. She spent trig class taking notes from the whiteboard. When the bell rang, Mrs. Hardy called her over. They spent about ten minutes going over a quiz that Amy had had some trouble with. Amy grabbed her backpack and headed out the door, assuming that Dan had gone home without her. She walked out of the classroom and found Ian leaning casually against the wall.

Amy groaned inwardly. In her head she screamed, WHY IS HE FOLLOWING ME?

But a small, tiny, minuscule part of her brain was thinking that it was nice of him to wait for her. Wait, _what? _Obviously, this small part of her brain didn't get the message that Ian was a liar and betrayer.

"Hello," Ian said, "I walked by the classroom and saw you talking to the teacher, so I waited."

Amy looked at him. "Uh...thanks," she said meekly. She started walking down the hall.

Ian quickened his pace and caught up to her. As he walked beside her, Amy remembered that time at Alastair's house in Seoul when she walked next to him and measured her strides to his. Ian's stride was even longer now; but so was hers.

They reached the main doors. Ian held the door open for her, and she walked out and down the stairs.

Ian followed her. After a minute's silence, he said, "Do you still hate me?"

That question took Amy by surprise. She used to think she hated him, back when he first left Dan, Alastair, and her to die in the cave. Then after the gauntlet, she realized that everything he had done had been influenced by his mother, and she stopped hating him.

But she still didn't trust him.

"I don't hate you," she said slowly, "I just...can't trust you."

Ian sighed. "I suppose I deserve that," he said, "But I will gain your trust again. I swear."

Amy stared at the sidewalk as they walked down the street. "We have to work together against this new family," she said, "So I guess I will have to trust you."

Ian grinned.

"But," she added, "that doesn't mean I have to like it." At least she only had to see him in English class.

They had reached Amy's apartment. Amy unlocked the door and walked inside. Ian was right behind her.

Amy turned. "Where are you going?" she asked. Ian smiled. "Didn't Mr. McIntyre tell you?" he asked. _Uh, oh_, Amy thought. _This can't be good._

**I'd just like to thank everyone for staying with me through me, er..._technical difficulties_. Despite SqueakyDolphin6's immensely helpful directions, I, being the dope I am, did see the _replace/update chapter with new content_ box until after I deleted the file. Fail for KT. Anyway, to make a long story short, I did a lot of juggling, a little tweaking, and hopefully it will be fine now.**

**I** **also wanted to make it clear that this will NOT entirely be an Iamy (or Amian, whatever) story, although I am an Amian (or Iamy...oh, forget it) fan. There's going to be other things going on, too.**

**Just wanted to reply to some reviews:**

**therockin'Cookie–I'm trying to keep the characters in character, but, as you said, things change after three years. Thanks for being so understanding!**

**SqueakyDolphin6–Again, thanks for your directions. Sorry that I'm a bad directions-follower *slaps own wrist*. Anyway, I'll work on the title, although booklover51089 seems to like it.**

**Top Madrigal Agent–I am a proud cliché writer! Thanks so much for reviewing!**

**Keep reading and keep reviewing! I have two weeks to fill up before camp, so at the moment I have no life. Oh, and I just realized how short this chapter is, so I'm apologizing for that. The next chapter will be longer, I promise.**

**Bye for now! -KT**


	5. Chapter 5

**I realized I should do the disclaimer again, just in case one of you sees how awesome my writing is and thinks that I'm really Rick Riordan :-)  
>But instead of doing it myself<strong>, **I thought I'd bring out our favorite disclaimer-giver...**

**Ian: Why must you all torture me so?**

**Me: Come on, just give the disclaimer and get it over with.**

**Ian: Mmble, mmbel, mghent...**

**Me: We can't hear you!**

**Ian: KTROSE12 DOES NOT OWN THE 39 CLUES OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. Happy?**

**Me: You're not done yet!**

**Ian: *sigh* And she is an amazing person who I admire *grits teeth* so..._much_.**

**Me: But not as much as you like Amy.**

**Ian: Right. WAIT! I DIDN'T MEAN THAT! HOLD ON...!**

**Me: Let's continue the story, shall we?**

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you invited them to stay here?" Amy hissed. She and Nellie were alone in the kitchen.<p>

Nellie shrugged. "It was either here, or a hotel," she said.

"Why couldn't they stay at a hotel?" Amy cried, then lowered her voice again. "They would be much more comfortable there!"

"Mr. McIntyre said it would be easier if everyone was here, so he could contact all of us at once."

Amy leaned against the counter and ran her fingers through her hair. "Great," she muttered.

Nellie looked at her worriedly. "Has Ian been giving you a hard time?" she asked.

Amy threw up her hands. "How is it that everyone seems to know about my personal life?"

Nellie smirked. "You should've seen the look on your face when you came home today," she said.

Amy sighed. "I'm not going to have any problems with him," she said. "It's going to be different this time. I'm not falling for him again."

Nellie smiled. "That's too bad, kiddo," she said, opening the refrigerator and pulling out some containers. "Because it looks like he's fallen for you."

* * *

><p>Dan dragged the foldable cot into his room. He shoved it into a corner and threw some blankets on top of it. "There," he said to Ian. "That's your bed." He turned to Hamilton. "Ham..."<p>

Hamilton held up a bedroll. "I'm covered," he said with a grin. He started unrolling the bedroll, and Ian unfolded the blankets and started making his bed.

Dan (who was surprised Ian even knew how to make a bed) left the room and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Nellie and Amy were making dinner. "Reagan and Madison are sleeping in the den," Amy was saying to Nellie, "and Natalie's sleeping in the extra bed in my room."

Nellie nodded. "That's sounds good," she said, chopping up some carrots.

Dan sat at the table and chewed on a carrot stick. "Where's Jonah and the Starlings?" he asked Nellie.

Nellie scraped the carrots into the salad and started on the cucumbers. "Mr. McIntyre called and said that Jonah wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow, and the triplets had some road trouble and stopped at a motel for the night."

Dan furrowed his brow. "Is Jonah coming to our school?" he asked. He knew that Jonah Wizard wasn't as big a celebrity as he was three years ago, but he was still an international rap star, and attending a public school in Boston would not only be hazardous, but would sent up a few flags, not only with the media, but with any enemy of the Janus.

Amy shook her head. "He had been tutored privately for the past couple of years, but he graduated a year early. Now he's taking a year off before going to college."

Dan sighed. "I wish I could take off from school for awhile," he moaned dejectedly.

Amy laughed at the dramatic look on his face.

Dan stood up. "I'm going out for awhile," he said, heading down the hall. "Some guys have a pick-up game going on down at the school. I'll be home in an hour." He grabbed his basketball from under the table by the front door and ran out.

Amy looked at Nellie. "Something's wrong," she said. Nellie nodded. "I know," she said. "He ate a carrot stick."

Amy laughed. "Besides that," she said, sobering quickly. "He took his basketball, but wasn't wearing his basketball sneakers."

Nellie nodded. "You're right," she said. "Something's up."

Amy stood up. "I'm going to check something out," she said, and headed out the door.

Nellie chuckled and went back to her slicing. Having the other Cahills back was bringing the eleven and fourteen-year-olds back out of Dan and Amy.

And she was enjoying every minute of it.

* * *

><p>Natalie sat out on the deck of the apartment, arms resting on the railing, gazing out over the rooftops. She liked Boston—it was a lot different than her old home in London. She had lived in a mansion, had servants wait on her head and foot, plenty of activities to occupy herself with...and she had been dreadfully, horribly lonely.<p>

The one light in her life had been a pen pal she had, a boy named Drew who lived in Chicago. A friend of Natalie's (well, the sad truth was that Natalie didn't really have any friends in London, just girls that she spent her time with) got his address from a cousin of hers, who thought that Natalie's friend and Drew would get along nicely together. But Natalie's friend wanted Natalie to write to Drew first—just to see what kind of guy he was.

So Natalie wrote to Drew (after collecting a considerable sum of money from her friend for it), and he wrote back, and she soon found herself writing to him every week.

Drew didn't know much about Natalie—that is, he didn't know that she was a member of one of the oldest and biggest families in the world, and was not only a descendant of Luke Cahill himself, but her parents were the head of the Lucian Branch.

What Drew knew about Natalie was that she was an eleven-year-old girl who lived on an estate in London, went to a private school, enjoyed reading fashion magazines, and badly needed someone to talk to.

That was before the clue hunt.

After Grace Cahill died, Natalie and Ian were thrust into the clue hunt, what they had been training for since they were in nappies. Natalie hardly ever had the chance to write to Drew, and, when she did, it was just a brief hello, telling him that she was traveling the world with her brother and, later on, her mother.

After going through the gauntlet, and Isabel Kabra was sent to jail, Ian and Natalie bought a decent-sized house in Dover from a lady who didn't ask any questions. They went back to school—although they both attended public schools, for although four million dollars was a lot, the Kabra children had taught themselves to spend sparingly.

Natalie continued writing to Drew, but something had changed. Drew seemed less friendly to her, less willing to talk about himself and his life. Natalie decided that he felt she had abandoned him over those months on the clue hunt.

Finally, the letters stopped altogether. Natalie had written a letter, asking him why he was suddenly so cold to her, and he never responded. Natalie sent him a dozen letters, apologizing, begging him to write her back. But it was to no avail.

She had lost him.

When Natalie first started writing Drew, he had seemed like a nice boy. He was the same age as her, but not as wealthy as her. According to him, he lived in an apartment in Chicago with his father. His mother had died from cancer when he was young. He enjoyed playing basketball, he liked to read science fiction novels, and, like Natalie, he desperately needed someone to talk to.

When Natalie's pet parakeet died, she immediately fled to her room. Her parents and brother assumed she spent those two hours in her room, sobbing into her pillow, but she had actually spent those two hours writing to Drew, pouring her feelings into those pieces of paper.

When Drew got kicked off the basketball team because he was failing math, Natalie received a five-page letter filled with his anger at his coach, his math teacher, and his parents. Natalie honestly couldn't understand why Drew made such a big deal about a little sport, but she knew it meant a lot to him, so she sympathized, something that she hardly ever did.

Whenever she did something on the clue hunt, like threatening Alastair in France or kidnapping Dan in China, she always thought, _What would Drew think if he really knew who I was?_

Natalie spent many nights lying awake, trying to figure out who she really was. Was she the popular, fashionable girl that her school peers knew, or the cold-blooded killer that her mother wanted her to be, or the sensitive girl who had a secret weakness for mint chocolate chip ice cream that Drew knew?

Natalie rested her chin on her hands and watched the sun set over the trees. Seeing the other kids again brought back a tidal wave of memories, as had happened to Amy. But those were memories that she wanted to forget. She didn't want to be popular Natalie. She didn't want to be Natalie Kabra, daughter of Isabel Kabra. She just wanted to be...herself.

But who was that, really?

* * *

><p><strong>I just discovered how to use the horizontal ruler! *crowd cheers for KT*<strong>

**Whoo-hoo! Chapter 5! Hope you liked it. I put a little bit of Natalie in there, and sorry if she seems OOC.**

**As for Dan...well, originally I had him following the twins because he sortakindamaybe liked Reagan ((yes, I am a Dan/Reagan fan–deal with it)), but I decided not to post that chapter because it was a bit _too_ OOC for Dan. I sort of have another idea about why he lied about playing basketball, but if anyone has any ideas, I'm listening.**

**Oh, yeah, just addressing Drew. No idea where I'm going with him ((yeah, I'm not the world's best planner-in-advance)), but I kind of wanted a way to express how Natalie has changed since the clue hunt.**

**Oh! Quick question! Does anyone know how old the Starlings are? Because, I know they're geniuses and all, which is why they're in college, but I don't think I've ever actually read anything that says their age. I got the impression that they were older, like sixteen or seventeen, but my friend thinks that they're more around Amy, Ian, Jonah, and Hamilton's age, like fourteen or fifteen.**

**Unless anyone knows for sure, I'll just use the age that the most people think.**

**As always, keep reviewing! I love hearing from you guys!**

**-KT  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Amy ran down the stairs leading up to their apartment and ran out the front door of the building. She caught a glance of Dan turning the corner down the street, and she quickly followed. So far so good, Amy thought, hugging the wall as she followed her brother.

At the corner, she saw him crossing the street and heading and heading towards a familiar brick building. Amy snorted, thinking, _Dan couldn't be going there. He must be...wait...he's throwing his basketball into the bushes...he's climbing the steps...no, it's not possible..._

Dan had walked into a library. On purpose. Not, "Oops, I thought it was the comic book store." Not, "Amy, don't drag me into _another _library!" Not, "My teacher says I need at least one book source for my project and you don't have any books on the topic."

But Dan knew where the comic book store was, Amy hadn't dragged him in, and why would he lie about playing basketball if he just needed a book for a project?

Dan had disappeared through the tall, wooden doors that were so familiar to Amy, an action that he had probably done so little times he could count the events on one hand.

She was tempted to go after her brother and confront him, but she had no idea what to say.

_Why are you in the library?_

_What else do you do at a library? I'm getting a book._

_You don't read!_

_I'm not an idiot, you know! And why did you follow me?_

Yeah, _that _was a confrontation she felt like having right then. So instead of entering the library, she turned and headed back home, wondering exactly when her life got so topsy-turvy.

About twenty minutes before dinner, there was a knock at the door. "Dan probably forgot his key again," Amy said to Nellie. She walked to the door and opened it.

"Jonah!" she exclaimed. Jonah Wizard, famous teen rapper, celebrity, and Cahill, flashed her a smile. "Hey, Amy," he said, stepping into the apartment. "How goes it?"

Amy took his "gangsta" leather jacket. "We didn't expect you until tomorrow," she said.

"My flight was early," he said, "by some miracle, so I got here ahead of time." He looked around. "Who else is here?"

"You mean who _isn't _here," Amy said drily. She quickly filled Jonah in on everything that had happened (except Dan and the library. She needed to find out more about that first).

* * *

><p>Dinner was fairly quiet. Amy poked at her food, not very hungry. Mr. McIntyre was supposed to have shown up by then, but there was no sign of him. She was...well, to say the least, <em>worried<em>.

The others were hardly eating either, but Amy doubted they were for the same reasons. Only Hamilton and Madison were eating, and even they didn't shovel everything into their mouths like they usually did.

Nellie took a few bites of her dinner, and then went to her room to study for an English exam the next day. Amy wondered if anything was wrong with her.

Natalie was very quiet. Amy realized that she had barely spoken two words since she had gotten there.

Dan and Reagan were both staring at their plates, not seeming to notice the food they were staring at.

And Ian...well, Amy didn't look at Ian.

Natalie finally stood up and quietly excused herself. Dan muttered something about math homework and slipped away. Reagan and Madison both stood at the same time and went to the den, Reagan lagging slightly behind her sister.

The three seventeen-year-olds were alone at the table. Amy silently stood up and began clearing the table. Hamilton grabbed some plates, and Ian, much to Amy's surprise, collected the glasses. The three of them walked to the kitchen and put dishes into the sink. Amy sighed.

"What's wrong, Amy?" Hamilton asked.

Amy looked at him. "I'm worried," she said, "about Mr. McIntyre and Uncle Fiske. They both should've been here by now." Amy leaned against the counter.

Hamilton put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine," he said.

"But what if they're not?" Amy persisted. "I have no idea where they are, or why Uncle Fiske left in the first place! For all we know, the enemy might have them!" She paused.

"And we don't even know who the enemy is," Hamilton finished for her.

Amy nodded, looking at the floor. "I wasn't ready for this," she said quietly. "I've had three years to adjust back to a regular life, and now I have to change gears again. It's not easy."

Hamilton nodded. "I know how you feel," he said. "After the clue hunt was finished, I kept catching myself looking over my shoulder for trails. If a scrap of paper got caught in my locker, I automatically thought that it was a lead." He grinned wryly. "The guys on my football team stopped hanging out with me, because I wouldn't stop telling them facts about famous Cahills."

Amy smiled, knowing that that was something she would do.

"I had to adjust even more than you two." Amy jumped—she had forgotten that Ian was in the room. He continued, "Natalie and I had to give up our estate, all of our money, everything we had grown up taking for granted."

"You had four million dollars," Hamilton pointed out.

"But no income," Ian added. "So we had to learn to spend sparingly." He paused, looking down at himself. For the first time, Amy realized that he was wearing jeans and a regular shirt, a huge leap from the dress shirts and pants that she remembered him always wearing.

It made him seem more...human.

"We've all been through a lot," she said hesitantly. "But...I think it's helped us. A lot." The two boys nodded in agreement.

Amy yawned. "I'm going to bed," she said, pushing herself off of the counter, " 'Night."

" 'Night," Hamilton responded.

"Goodnight, Amy," Ian said. Amy left the kitchen and went to her room.

Ian sighed, and rubbed his eyes.

Hamilton looked at Ian. "Well," he said, "A least she doesn't hate you."

* * *

><p>Amy changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth in the bathroom. Then she went to her room.<p>

Natalie was just climbing into the other bed. Amy sat on her own bed and looked at the younger girl. "Natalie? Are you okay?"

Natalie looked up. "Me?" she asked, "I'm fine."

Amy studied her for a moment. "Are you sure?"

Natalie bit her lip. How could she ever explain the struggle that was going on inside of her? She couldn't. So she said, "I'm fine, really. Just jet lag, I suppose."

Amy nodded, although not accepting that that was all there was. But she decided to let it alone. "Okay. Well, goodnight." She turned out the lights. Natalie rolled over to face the wall. Even thought the lights were out, she didn't want to risk Amy seeing the tears running down her cheeks.

* * *

><p><strong>Aww...poor Natalie! Yes, Dan entered a library. GASP! We'll find out more about that later. Thank you, all my loyal reviewers! For any of you who pointed out mistakes in my past chapters, I promise to go back and fix them (can't right now, I'm rushing to finish this before dinner). The most common response I got to the Starlings' age was around fifteen, so I'll probably be doing that. <strong>

**therockinCookie–I'm interested on your opinion on Natalie's type of pet (I'm serious; this is not sarcasm). You said she'd probably have a cat, but if you'll remember from Book 3 (us Amian fans' favorite book, right?), Natalie was getting an allergic reaction to Saladin. So she's probably allergic (wow, something Nat and I have in common). But now I'm intrigued–so my new question for my readers...what kind of pet do you think Natalie would have?**

**Okay, I have to run now. REVIEW! Love you all,**

**-KT**


	7. Chapter 7

Reagan and Madison unfolded the bed out of the couch in the den. They changed into their pajamas and crawled under the covers. Madison immediately fell asleep, but Reagan lay awake, thinking.

* * *

><p>Madison often called her a wimp on the clue hunt. She knew that, as a Holt, she should be fearless and loyal to only the immediate family—which didn't include the other Cahills.<p>

But when being loyal to the family meant killing the enemy...she couldn't do it.

She knew her mom felt the same way, most times. That's where Reagan got her sensitivity. Madison was more like their father, Eisenhower—in it to win it, and fight to the death.

Reagan knew Hamilton used to be like that, too. But he changed, as did everyone over the course of the clue hunt.

Her friends had noticed the change in her when she returned. She was a lot quieter. She thought before she acted. And she stopped beating up little kids, like she used to.

All of Reagan's friends—that is, the other girls who beat up people with her—got freaked out by her new personality, and stopped hanging out with her.

Madison, Reagan noticed, had barely changed from the clue hunt. If anything, she had gotten even tougher and meaner. Even to her own twin.

* * *

><p>Reagan slowly rolled out of bed, careful not to wake up Madison. She didn't have anything to worry about. Madison was snoring loud enough to wake the dead.<p>

Still, just to be cautious, Reagan tucked her feet into a pair of worn slippers, grabbed her blanket, quietly tip-toed across the room, and slipped out of the den.

* * *

><p>Natalie couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. But the truth was, there were just way too many thoughts speeding around in her head to allow her any sleep.<p>

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, slipped her feet into her silk slippers, and pulled on her robe. She quietly crept out the door of the bedroom and down the hall to the balcony.

Natalie reached the doors to the balcony. One door was slightly ajar. Her instincts made her put her eye to the crack and peek outside.

Reagan was sitting out in the dark, her knees pulled up to her chest, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her breath made a white cloud in front of her face, for although it was only about 50˚F outside, an unusually mild temperature for that time of year, it was still the middle of February in Massachusetts.

Natalie decided it was safe to reveal herself. She opened the door. "Reagan?"

Reagan whirled around. "Natalie?"

"What are you doing here?" both girls asked.

Natalie spoke first. "I needed some air. I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," Reagan admitted. The two girls were silent for a moment.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Reagan asked hesitantly.

Natalie bit her lip, fighting the urge to say, _None of your business, peasant!_

"I can't forget." The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. She collapsed into one of the chairs on the balcony.

Most people wouldn't understand what Natalie meant by that, but Reagan did. She couldn't forget, either. She nodded. "I was trying to convince myself that it was just Madison's snoring that was keeping me awake," she admitted, "but...I've tried so hard to forget the hunt. After three years, the memories were finally fading. And now..."

"It's something you can't forget," Natalie said quietly.

"Unforgettable," Reagan added bitterly.

They were quiet again for a moment. "When I used to feel like this, I would go beat someone up," Reagan said. "But...I've found that I can't even do _that_ anymore."

"I would write to Drew," Natalie said.

"Who's Drew?"

Natalie felt embarrassed. "Just this guy...from Chicago."

"You have a _pen pal_?"

Natalie shook her head. "_Had _a pen pal," she said sadly. Then, before she realized what she was doing, she was telling Reagan all about Drew. She talked about what a great friend her was, how he listened to her, how he never judged her for who her family was or how she lived.

Reagan listened as Natalie spoke. When she finished, Reagan said, "I used to be able to talk to Madison like that. She was my best friend. But," she added sadly, "she's changed. We've all changed." She looked at the other girl. "_You've _changed."

"What do you mean by _that_?"

Reagan shrugged. "Just listen to yourself! You haven't made a single snide comment since you came out here!"

Natalie crossed her arms. "Well, you haven't tried to beat me up a single time since I've _arrived_!"

They both glared at each other for a moment, then sank back into their chairs. "We've all changed," Reagan repeated. "And now there's this new enemy...whoever _they_ are..."

Natalie suddenly became scared. "What's going to happen, Reagan?" Natalie asked quietly, "What's going to happen to us? What can a bunch of kids do against...whoever we're up against?"

"A lot," Reagan said with Holt-like determination. "There's a lot we can do. We've braved mountains and tunnels, cemeteries and towers, catacombs and caves. We survived the clue hunt!" Reagan took a breath. "We can do anything," she said.

Natalie curled up in her chair. "You really think so?" she asked sleepily.

Reagan nodded and yawned. "I...do..."

But Natalie didn't hear her. She was already asleep. And after a minute, so was Reagan.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's so short, but I felt adding any more to this chapter would ruin the effect. Yeah, these two are <em>definately <em>OOC, but it's basically the affect of three years going by.**

**Also, I apologize for all the line breaks. I know somehow some people are able to use squiggles or whatever, but line breaks are the easiest for me. I hope they're not too distracting.  
><strong>

**Thanks to everyone who suggested pets for Natalie. Here are the results of our survey:**

**1 French poodle**

**1 Exotic Fish**

**1 Bunny**

**2 Horses...so the horse would be the winner, if I didn't have a strict personal rule to never kill off a horse in any of my stories. So I'm sticking with the parakeet ((or whatever bird I said...I think it was a parakeet...))**

**Responses to Reviews:**

**SqueakyDolphin6: You would not believe how close you are with the Reagan thing. I think I mentioned this in the last chapter, but originally I had Dan lie about playing basketball because he was following Reagan, but then I realized that Dan would NOT be that stalkerish in this dimension, so I took that out. Whatever the reason why Dan went to the library, it won't be a major event in the story.  
>Also, I agree...if Ham was helping Ian, Amy would be doomed. Luckily, Hamilton stays out of that kind of thing, so Ian's on his own. Hehe...<strong>

**therockinCookie: OF COURSE YOU SHOULD READ THE SERIES AGAIN!**

**bookgirl39: Okay, EW. Trust me, I HATE the Ian vs. Hamilton thing. Almost as much as I hate Ian calling Amy "Love" more than once in a story. PEOPLE! HE CALLED HER THAT ONCE! GET _OVER_ IT!  
>Yes, Natalie still missed her mum. No, she is not working with Isabel ((she misses Isabel the way she used to act, not the cold-blooded murderer that she turned out to be)).<br>And the CDs to the iPod thing? Don't worry, I've done that too. Also with books on tape. I have Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on my iPod.  
><strong>

**To everyone who reviewed: Thank you so much! It's you guys who keep me updating! Oh, and that reminds me, my chapterly challenge:**

**Count how many times I used the words "change" and "changed" in this chapter. The people who count correctly get to give me names for supporting characters who will be coming in the story ((I need guys and girls names, and they can be your name or just a name you picked)).**

** Until Chapter Eight,**

**-KT  
><strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Time for a disclaimer again!**

**Ian: I'm not doing it.**

**Me: That's what she said.**

**Ian: ? ? ?  
><strong>

**Me: Never mind. Anyway, I know.**

**Ian: YOU CAN'T MAK...pardon?**

**Me: I said, I know. You're not doing the disclaimer.**

**Ian: WHY NOT?**

**Me: Because I decided that you're not good enough for it. I found someone much better.**

**Dan: That's what she said.**

**Ian: HIM?**

**Dan: 'sup? *fangirls scream***

**Ian: How could you possibly think that Daniel is better than ME?**

**Dan: It's DAN. D–A–N. GET IT RIGHT!**

**Me: He just seemed like the better choice.**

**Ian: Well..I...how...you...**

**Dan: Okay. KTRose12...**

**Ian: ...DOES NOT OWN THE 39 CLUES OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS! HA! I'm better than you!  
><strong>

**Dan: Aw, man...**

**Me: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call reverse psychology. Now, on to the story.**

* * *

><p>Nellie woke up at 6:00 and walked to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She shivered—it was cold inside.<p>

She saw that one of the doors to the balcony was slightly open. She walked over and started to shut it, but then spotted Natalie and Reagan asleep in the chairs. She stared for a moment, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. No sensible answer came to her, so she gently closed the doors and walked back to the kitchen. _Better just to leave it alone,_ she thought.

* * *

><p>Dan woke up in the usual manner—on the floor. His usual dreams of battling an army of ninja zombies often led to him falling out of bed in the middle of the night.<p>

Dan sleepily threw on a T-shirt and jeans and trudged down the hall to the kitchen. Nellie was making pancakes. "'Morning, Nellie," he said. Nellie looked over her shoulder. "'Morning," she said, "You're up early."

Dan looked at the clock. It was 6:45; he usually wasn't seen until 7:15 on school days.

"Well, since you're up, you can wake up the others. Breakfast is in ten minutes."

Dan walked back out of the kitchen and stood in the middle of the hall. "Wake up, everybody!" he yelled.

No response from behind the doors.

"Time for breakfast!" he tried.

Still no response.

Dan thought for a moment, then yelled, "I found a clue!"

Immediately, four doors banged open; Amy, Hamilton, Ian, Madison, Jonah, Natalie, and Reagan (the last two, to Dan's confusion, came from the balcony) all burst into the hall. They all looked at Dan, then at each other.

It was Hamilton who started chuckling. Then Natalie started giggling. Soon all eight of them were cracking up.

Nellie poked her head out of the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready," she said. Dan thought he heard her add, "you dorks," at the end, which only made him laugh more.

The seven other kids went back to their rooms to get dressed. Then they all went to the kitchen for breakfast.

* * *

><p>Seven kids walked out of the Cahill apartment that morning—Amy, Dan, Hamilton, Reagan, Madison, Ian, and Natalie. Jonah stayed at the apartment, as Nellie had told Dan the night before.<p>

Amy was worried that Jonah would be lonely, but he assured her that he had lots to do to keep him occupied.

The kids walked down the street, Dan leading with his skateboard, Hamilton and Amy walking behind him, Reagan and Natalie behind them, Ian behind the two girls, and Madison bringing up the rear.

They took the shortcut that the two Cahills had taken the day before—now that the Holts were with them, they weren't worried about anyone who might be there.

They didn't meet up with anyone, and got to the two schools without any problems.

Dan, Natalie, Madison, and Reagan headed for the middle school, and Amy, Hamilton, and Ian climbed the front steps to the high school. They parted ways, Hamilton and Amy going to their homerooms, Ian going to his. Amy couldn't help but notice Stephanie Turner weaving her way through the crowd of kids towards Ian.

* * *

><p>Amy's morning classes passed in a blur. Before she knew it, it was lunchtime.<p>

Amy walked into the lunchroom and headed towards her usual table. She sat down and opened her lunch—leftovers from the dinner she hardly touched the night before. She stirred the food around a bit, and then took a bite. She still wasn't very hungry.

Hamilton soon joined her, putting his lunch tray down on the table with a smack. Amy looked up. "What's wrong?" she asked him, seeing his furious face.

"I HATE my math teacher!" he exploded, sitting down. "Today she called on me in the middle of class and made me write an equation on the board. And she KNEW I couldn't solve it! I just stood at the whiteboard, staring at the equation, and she just stood there, saying, 'We're waiting, Hamilton,' in that prissy 'I think you're so dumb' voice. She's sure got some nerve...Amy?"

Amy looked back at him. "Huh? Oh, yeah, Ham, I'm listening. 'She's sure got some nerve...' Go on." Hamilton raised an eyebrow and followed her gaze across the cafeteria.

Ian had just walked out of the lunch line, and was walking past Stephanie Turner's table, where all the "popular" people sat. Stephanie grabbed his sleeve and flashed a flirtatious smile at him. He said something to her, and she replied, gesturing for him to sit down. Ian shook his head, smiled, and continued across the cafeteria.

Ian sat down next to Amy. "Hello," he said to the two of them, unwrapping his lunch.

Hamilton and Amy stared at him.

Ian looked up. "What?" he asked, looking at them.

Hamilton spoke before Amy could.

"You just passed on a chance to sit with Stephanie Turner. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Ian shrugged. "She's not my type."

"Not your type?" Hamilton exclaimed, "She's HOT, man!"

Amy glared at Hamilton.

"I, uh, mean, hot like the devil is hot," Hamilton stammered.

"Nice save," Ian murmured.

"Thanks."

Ian was silent for a moment. Amy and Hamilton watched him expectantly. He finally spoke.

"Stephanie is someone I would've hung around in my old life. I'm not that guy anymore." He looked Amy in the eyes. "I'm not like that anymore."

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my gods, Ian ISN'T LIKE THAT ANYMORE! (So he says) Anyway, still kind of short, but I decided to end the chapter there.<strong>

**Winners of our Chapterly contest:**

**Madrigrl39**

**CloverThyne ((although you never actually said the word "eight"...I got the idea))**

**LuluLucian444**

**SqueakyDolphin6**

**JanusGirl101**

**I confused myself because I only counted seven, then I realized in the first sentence I wrote, "They changed into their pajamas" and I was like, DUR! Anyway, if you didn't submit any names and you won, please do so next time you comment.**

**"Dan thought for a moment, then yelled, 'I found a clue!**'" **Who else thought of Blues' Clues when you read this? :-)**

**Response to Reviews:**

**therockinCookie: You don't know how happy I get when I see you say, "I couldn't find any grammar mistakes." Whoo-hoo!**

**bookgirl39: Well, I never said it was _legal_...I'm not 100% sure...okay, I won't tell if you won't tell.**

**Madrigrl39: Same thing with me. So much time, so little to do!**

**nevar. lose. hope: Congratulations for being the only one to lose the Chapterly challenge! Don't let that discourage you from still reviewing! ((If you pull out of your laziness again, lol))**

**Everyone who reviewed: Keep it up! I love you all! Also, I'm curious what branches you all are in. Let me know when you review!**

**Bored out of my mind,**

**-KT**

**P.S Ew. I think my disclaimer and authors note put together are bigger than the actual chapter. Longer chapters on the way!  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**And the crowd goes wild–I finally updated!**

* * *

><p>Reagan met Natalie by Natalie's locker after English class.<p>

"Guess what?" she asked.

Natalie turned. "Dan asked you out!" she squealed excitedly.

Reagan stared at her. "Where did _that_ come from?" she exclaimed.

Natalie didn't hear her. "Oh, Reagan, I KNEW he liked you!"

"Uh, Nat..."

"And with the Valentine's Day dance tonight..."

"Natalie..."

"He might even..."

"NATALIE!"

Natalie finally looked at her.

"What?"

"What are you _talking _about?"

"Erm...nothing. What were you going to say?"

Reagan rolled her eyes. "I think you know already. There's a Valentine's Day dance tonight." She made a face. "I hate Valentine's Day," she said.

Natalie looked at her, wide-eyed. "Are you joking?" she exclaimed. "Valentine's Day is the greatest! You get candy, and flowers, and cards..."

Reagan put her hands on Natalie's shoulders. "Natalie. You're hyperventilating. Calm down."

Natalie took a deep breath. "Sorry."

Reagan smirked. "_You_ get candy, and flowers, and cards. The only way I can get anything on Valentine's Day is if I threaten someone to buy me a box of candy or else. And that's against my ethics now. So that's why I hate Valentine's Day."

* * *

><p>"Oh, no."<p>

"What's wrong?"

Amy handed Hamilton the flier she got in science class. "This."

Hamilton read the flier out loud:

**Valentine's Day Dance**  
><strong>February 14th in the high school cafeteria<strong>  
><strong>Grades 8-11<strong>  
><strong>Come with a date or just to have a good time!<strong>  
>("I hate those cheery dance organizer people," Hamilton muttered)<br>**Refreshments will be served**  
><strong>Photographs, games, and lots of DANCING!<strong>  
><strong>Tickets will be sold at the door<strong>

Hamilton looked up. "I still don't see the problem."

Amy groaned. "I HATE Valentine's Day!" she exclaimed. "Every year, we have a flower delivery on Valentine's Day, right? Some girls get a flower or two, some, like Stephanie "hot-like-the-devil" Turner..." She paused to give Hamilton a look, "...get a dozen bunches. Guess how many I get?"

Hamilton waited.

"None!" Amy exploded.

Hamilton was confused. "You want flowers?"

Amy checked herself. "I don't really want any," she admitted, walking down the hall with Hamilton. "It's just SO embarrassing sitting at an empty desk when all the desks around me are covered with flowers."

Hamilton started to say something, but Amy continued. "It's just so disgusting!" she said. "Everywhere you look, you see people making gooey eyes at each other and holding hands. I mean, it's sweet with older people, but in the middle of a high school? Disturbing!"

Hamilton waited to see if she was done. She wasn't.

"I don't totally hate romance. But Valentine's Day just seems like a totally useless holiday."

She took a breath, and Hamilton took the chance to speak.

"Well, what can you do but grin and bear it? Just be grateful it's only for one day." He started to walk to his Spanish class. "Who knows?" he called over his shoulder. "You might even get some flowers this year!"

Amy turned in time to see Ian Kabra entering their English class. Oh, yeah. Him.

* * *

><p>Amy, Hamilton, and Ian walked out if the high school, across the soccer field, to the middle school. The final bell rang, and Natalie and the twins emerged through the front doors. Dan walked out behind them, dropping his skateboard and skating past them.<p>

When the four younger kids reached the three older kids, Dan said, "C'mon. Let's see if the Starlings are here yet." He skated down the street, the others close behind.

* * *

><p>Amy unlocked the front door and walked in. She looked around. "Whoa," she breathed.<p>

The apartment was immaculate. The newspapers had been piled neatly on the coffee table. The floor was mopped and shiny.

Dan peeked into the kitchen. The breakfast dished had been washed and put away in the cabinets.

"What happened?" he asked, amazed.

Jonah was in his room, listening to his iPod and reading Hamlet. He looked up when the kids entered. "Yo, wassup?" he said in greeting.

"Jonah," Amy said, "did you...clean?"

Jonah nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I was bored, so I cleaned up a little. Oh, and Mr. M called. He'll be here in..." Jonah checked the time on his iPod, "...one hour."

Amy felt relieved at this news.

They all filed out of Jonah's room. Reagan went to the den. Natalie went to her and Amy's room to read for a while. Ian went to the boys' room, and Hamilton and Dan went out back with a football.

Amy went out to the balcony with _Great Expectations_, a book that seemed to fit the mood in the apartment at the time.

She curled up in a chair and started to read. Below her, down in the yard, she could hear Dan and Hamilton laughing as they threw the football.

Amy turned a page, and her bookmark fell out. She reached down to pick it up...

...but another hand beat her to it. She looked up.

"Here," Ian said, straightening up and handing her the bookmark. She took it wordlessly, tucking it back into her book.

Ian looked at her. "May I sit down?"

"It's a free country." Amy was surprised at her coolness.

Ian sat down and stared out over the trees for a few minutes. Just as Amy started to wonder whether it'd be rude if she went back to reading, he spoke. "Why did you seem so surprised at lunch today, when I didn't sit at Stephanie Turner's table?"

Amy avoided his gaze. "Um...I don't know. I just expected you to sit with her, that's all."

"Why?"

"Well, she likes you, and she's popular, and..."

"...and snobbish, and jerk-like, and everything else I used to be but aren't anymore. Can't you see that?"

Amy looked at her hands. "I-I..." _Oh my god_, she thought_. My stutter's back_.

Ian watched her.

She finally caught her tongue. "She's very pretty," she murmured.

"Well, so are you."

Amy was so startled she almost dropped her book. She looked up at him.

His eyes where on her, trapping her in his gaze like he did back in Seoul three years ago. He reached out to touch her hand.

Amy snapped out of her reverie. She pulled her hand away and stood up. "No, Ian," she said turning.

Ian stood up too. "Why are you acting like this?" he asked.

Amy whirled around. "You hurt me," she said. "You made me think you liked me, and then you left me in a cave_ to die_. Why should I _not _act like this?"

"Amy, you know the clue hunt..."

"Forget the clue hunt!" Amy cried. "This isn't about the clue hunt, or the branches, or the Cahills. This is about you and me." She glared at him. "Did you even look back?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Did you really want me dead?"

Ian looked at her pleadingly. "Amy, you have to believe me, it was the only thing I knew to do. I didn't grow up knowing that an alliance didn't have to end with killing off the allies! I didn't know that when you give something to someone as a token of your trust, that means you have to keep their trust! I didn't know..." He trailed off, looking at her. "I didn't know that I could actually start to like one who was considered the enemy." He took a step towards her. "Amy..."

Amy's eyes welled up with angry tears. "Just stay away from me!" She dashed into the apartment.

Ian sighed and sat down in one of the chairs. He ran his finger through his hair, then banged a fist on the table in frustration.

* * *

><p>Dan and Hamilton looked at each other from below the balcony.<p>

"Ew," Dan said. "I did _not_ need to hear that."

Hamilton rolled his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a car pull into the driveway. "Mr. McIntyre's here!" he exclaimed, dropping the football.

The two boys ran into the apartment. "Mr. McIntyre's here!" Dan yelled, rushing to the front window. Doors opened, and heads poked out.

Dan looked out the window. "The Starlings are with him," he reported. "And..." He suddenly gasped. "Amy! AMY!"

Amy stepped out of the kitchen. Her eyes were slightly red, but she blinked a few times and they cleared up. "What?"

"He's here!"

Amy gasped and ran to stand next to her brother. She looked out the window. "Uncle Fiske!" she cried. The two siblings bolted from the window and dashed out the door. The others quickly followed.

Dan and Amy ran out the front door and threw themselves on the gray-haired man who was just getting out of the passenger seat. The man laughed and hugged them back.

Greetings were passed around to Mr. McIntyre, Fiske Cahill, and the Starlings, who had just emerged from the backseat. The group of Cahills started inside.

* * *

><p>The thirteen Cahills went to the dining room and began to take seats around the table. Suddenly, the door opened, and Nellie walked in. More greetings were exchanged, and Nellie hugged Fiske hello. She then grabbed the chair to Amy's right that Ian looked like he was about to take. Dan quickly took the seat on Amy's left.<p>

Amy sent the two of them a grateful look. Then Mr. McIntyre began to speak:

"As all of you know, for hundreds of years, the Cahill family was divided against each other, into four branches. The Janus..." Mr. McIntyre glanced at Jonah, who sat up straighter, "...the Tomas..." The Holts looked at one another, "...the Ekaterina..." The Starlings gave each other small smiles, "...and the Lucian." Ian and Natalie looked at each other, almost sadly.

"Eventually," Mr. McIntyre continued, "It was discovered by the other branches that a fifth branch existed—the Madrigals."

The other kids looked at Amy and Dan, who exchanged a nervous glance.

"Descendants of Madeline, the fifth child of Gideon and Olivia Cahill, made it their personal goal to reunite the Cahill family and bring them together, as one."

Dan snorted softly, and Amy kicked him under the table.

"And, three years ago, that goal was achieved. It took awhile, but over these past years, the four branches have declared peace, especially now that a new enemy has come up."

The children tensed with anticipation.

"They are called the Vespers. They are a family as old as the Cahills, although their ancestors are less, shall we say, notable. But believe me, they can be as bloodthirsty as they want to be, and are."

Amy shivered, remembering what Mr. McIntyre had told her three years ago in the Cahill cemetery: "They're even more secretive than the Cahills, and, frankly, they make Isabel Kabra look like Mother Teresa."

Amy looked up at the Kabras, and by their pale faces, she could tell that their thoughts were similar to hers.

Ian glanced up at her, and she quickly looked away.

"Our sources inform us that there are several Vespers families living here in Boston. They're children may even go to your schools."

Reagan shivered at the thought.

Natalie raised her hand. "Mr. McIntyre," she said in her smooth, silky accent, "what exactly can we do?"

"Excellent question. Well, we have cooperation from the heads of all five Cahill branches. Yes, Ian," he added as Ian opened his mouth to speak, "that includes your father." The two Kabra children stiffened.

"The head of the Tomas branch, as well as Jonah's mother, Cora Wizard, have both let us know that they are ready for action at any time. And, as a few of you may know, since the arrest of Bae Oh, Alastair Oh is the head of the Ekaterina branch."

Dan and Amy grinned at each other.

"He has notified me that he has all of his members ready to act. And, of course, the Madrigals are also prepared. But, going back to Natalie's question," Mr. McIntyre said, for Natalie looked like she was about to ask it again. "We need you children to get information from the younger generation of Vespers. You all will be sent on various assignments."

Dan whooped and high-fived Hamilton. "This is sweet!" he exclaimed.

"We are depending on the twelve of you to get us enough information to stop the Vespers once and for all."

Nellie's brow furrowed, and she did a quick head count. "Er, Mr. M?" she said, "There are only eleven kids. Why did you say...?"

Mr. McIntyre looked at her.

Realization dawned on Nellie, and she whooped like Dan. "You mean, I get to do this too?" she exclaimed.

Fiske spoke up. "We believe that some of the Vesper children are about your age, enrolled in BU. We will be enrolling you in the classes that they are in, and perhaps you can learn something."  
>Nellie grinned, fist-bumping Dan.<p>

Fiske stood up. "We will need to use the den as a central control room," he said, "and will be connecting several phone lines and anything else we may need into the den as well."

Amy looked at Nellie. "The twins can sleep in my room with Natalie and I," she said, glancing at the other girls for confirmation. They nodded quickly.

"It's settled then," Fiske said. "Follow me."

The group stood up and walked down the hall to the den. Fiske was carrying a huge leather trunk with him, which he swung up onto the couch. "Introducing," he said grandly, popping the locks, "my trunk of disguises." He flipped the lid up.

The surrounding group gasped. Inside the large trunk was an assortment of wigs, clothes, and other miscellaneous accessories. Dan grabbed a shaggy black wig from the trunk and put it over his reddish-blond hair. "Thank you, thank you very much," he said in a horrible Elvis impersonation. Reagan whacked him with a pillow, and Amy laughed.

Natalie pulled out a curly red wig, and tugged it over her silky black hair.

Sinead chuckled. "You look like you're about to burst out into a chorus of, "_Tomorrow_."

Natalie didn't get the joke.

Mr. McIntyre spoke. "This brings us to your first mission," he said. Everyone looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

He smiled. "Have you heard about the Valentine's day dance at the high school tonight?"

He was supplied with a variety of reactions.

* * *

><p><strong>YAY! I finally updated! *happy dance* Sorry, I know it's been a few days<strong>. **And I'm starting day camp tomorrow, but I'll try to update as much as possible.**

**Yes, Jonah cleaned. I don't exactly remember why I wrote that part...but I didn't feel like taking it out. So I guess Jonah is a cleaning wizard. **

**...**

**OH MY GODS, I JUST GOT THE JOKE! Get it? Jonah...Wizard? Cleaning...wizard? I swear, I did not do that on purpose!**

**Ahem.**

**And I don't know how you all feel ((I almost wrote y'all, but I really don't talk like that)), but I'm starting to feel sorry for Ian. AND IT'S MY OWN STORY! That's kind of pathetic...even for me.**

**Anyway...as I think I've mentioned before, I've already written a lot of this story on my iPod (I've been writing it since January). So I have it already saved on my computer. However, when I update, I need to add spaces between the lines and edit some things that I feel need changing.**

**Now, I KNOW that the Valentine's Day dance is kind of cliché. I don't know how many people have done similar things. Let me clarify a few points:**

**-Although I am an Amian fan, Ian and Amy are _not _going to get all mushy at the dance.**

**-HAMILTON IS NOT GOING TO ASK AMY OUT OR DEVELOP A CRUSH FOR HER IN ANY WAY!**

**-Again, I am not a Natan fan. I am sorry, all of you nutty Natan people. Yes, I _might _do something with Dan and Reagan. MIGHT.**

**-Trust me–anything you gag at in this story, it is most likely I will be gagging along with you. My perspective has changed a lot since I wrote this, but I'm too lazy to change it any more than the mild tweaking I'm doing.**

**Oh, and I also started writing this before Vespers Rising came out, so since I didn't feel like changing much, yes, Vikram Kabra is still head of the Lucians. Originally, I had Bae Oh die, so Alistair could be head of the Ekats, but then I read the TBBOBS ((The Black Book of Buried Secrets, for you slower ones)), where Bae conveniently got himself arrested. So I just tweaked that part a little.**

**Also...ONLY FOUR PEOPLE REVIEWED THIS CHAPTER! I was depressed for a whole FIVE MINUTES!**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! You guys are the only reason why I'm writing this, and I don't know who's reading it unless you REVIEW!**

**Response to Reviews ((what few there were)):**

**CloverThyne**: **Whoo-hoo! Go Janus!**

**bookgirl39: Especially Ian? Uh, _duh_. :-)**

**VictusIncendia: ((wow, I spelled you username right on the first try!)) I'm happy to see that I wasn't alone.  
><strong>

**therockinCookie**: **Noooo! I have failed you! *sobs hysterically* I will try harder next time! Oh, and when you said that thing about Ian not being that guy anymore, I thought you said Ian isn't _a _guy anymore, and I was like, "IAN'S A GIRL? Uh-oh...that could be problematic..." Yeah, that was my blond moment of the day...**

**So GUESS WHAT? An Ekat agent ((aka my friend Divya)) has informed me that every kids meal at Taco Bell now comes with exclusive, top-secret, never-before-read, short stories for four 39 Clues characters–Alistair, Irina, Jonah, and Hamilton. EVERYONE GO TO TACO BELL AND BUY A DOZEN KIDS MEALS! ((Then send me the stories, because I never go to Taco Bell XP))**

**Next challenge: If you needed to get Reagan into a dress, how would you do it without putting yourself in risk of bodily harm?**

**Again, I'll try to update ASAP ((which could mean, "Act Swiftly, Awesome Pachyderm", but in this case means, "As Soon As Possible")) **

**You keep reviewing, I'll keep updating–it's the ciiircle of liiiife...SING WITH ME! No? Oh..._fine_.**

**Until Chapter 10,**

**-KT  
><strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own The 39 Clues, or Zac Efron, or Corbon Bleu. ((_Now _you're curious, aren't ya?))**

* * *

><p>Amy stormed into her room, quickly followed by Natalie and Reagan. "I won't do it," she said, flopping on her bed. "I will not do it. I refuse! I-I demand my rights!"<p>

Natalie looked at Reagan for help. Reagan shrugged. "Don't look at me," she said. "I'm with Amy on this one."

"I don't like dances," Amy said, "and I don't like Valentine's Day."

"Ditto," Reagan said with a sigh.

"Come on, you two," Natalie said, sitting on her bed across from Amy. "This will be fun! You'll see! Besides, Mr. McIntyre said that we can go in disguise, if we wanted to, so you can be in disguise, so no one will recognize you."

Amy looked up, a look of inspiration on her face. "He won't recognize me," she said softly. She jumped off of the bed. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked. "Let's go!"

She ran out of the room to the den. Natalie and Reagan looked at each other, shrugged, and followed her.

Amy peeked into the den. The room was empty. She gestured the two younger girls to follow her. "Reagan, you guard the door. Tell us if any of the boys are coming." Amy opened the trunk, and she and Natalie started going through the disguises.

"Oh, I love this!" Natalie whispered, holding up a silky pink dress. She threw it over her arm. "I'm wearing this," she said, and then began looking for something for Reagan to wear.

Amy pulled out a long, emerald green dress. It was strapless, and tight at the waist with a loose skirt. She stared at it for a minute.

Natalie looked up. "Oh, Amy, that dress is perfect for you!" she exclaimed.

Amy looked at the younger girl. "You think so?" she asked quietly.

Natalie nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!" she said. She looked down at the trunk. "And I think I found something for Reagan, too."

Reagan whirled around. "Whoa, whoa, hang on!" she said. "Just because Amy suddenly liked the idea of the dance doesn't mean I'm going to be all gung-ho about it!"

"Just keep watch," Natalie said, pulling out a short, purple dress.

Reagan suddenly gasped. "Someone's coming!" she hissed.

Amy looked around frantically. "Over there!" she whispered, and the three girls dove behind the oak bookshelf in the corner, taking their dresses with them.

Dan, Hamilton, Ian, Ted, and Jonah entered the room.

Jonah walked over to the trunk. "Let's see what we have here," he said, popping open the lid, which, thanks to quick thinking, Natalie remembered to close before they hid.

"Do I have to wear a suit?" Dan asked.

"A nice dress shirt, perhaps," Ian said, walking over to stand next to Jonah.

Jonah pulled out a blue sport coat and threw it at Hamilton. "Try this on," he said. Jonah looked at Ian, then back at the trunk. "Tuxedo...tuxedo..." he murmured, pawing through the clothes. Ian grinned.

"Here's one," Jonah said triumphantly, holding a tuxedo up. He handed it to Ian. "Try on the jacket," he said.

Ian did so. "It fits," he said happily.

Jonah found a nice jackets and pants for him and Ted. Then the four boys looked at Dan.

Dan gulped.

Jonah and Ian looked at each other, then Dan, and then both began digging through the pile of clothing.

"Aha!" Ian said triumphantly, pulling out a deep green sport coat. He tossed it to Dan. "Try this on," he said.

Dan slipped the coat on and grinned. "It fits," he said, and looked satisfied with his outfit.

Ted spoke up. "Has anyone considered going in disguise?" he asked.

The boys looked at each other. "I want to!" Dan said, looking at the wigs. He pulled out a dark brown one, and put it on. "How do I look?" he asked.

Hamilton patted down a few stray hairs and grinned. "Like a miniature Zach Efron," he said.

Dan made a face, but kept the wig on.

Ian, Hamilton, and Ted all decided to pass on the disguises, but Jonah decided he better wear one. He picked out a curly, dark brown afro wig.

"Great," Hamilton muttered, "It's Zach Efron AND Corbon Bleu."

The boys started cracking up, minus Ian, who didn't get the joke. He grabbed one of the two makeup cases from the trunk. "We'll need to color your eyebrows, and we can add some latex makeup to change the appearance of your face," he said. The boys started for the door.

"Wait!" Dan ran ahead of them and peeked out the door. "All clear," he said. "I don't want the girls to see my disguise."

The other boys nodded and quickly went down the hall to Dan, Hamilton, and Ian's room.

The three girls let out a breath and crawled out from behind the bookshelf. They looked at each other and immediately began shaking with silent laughter.

Natalie was the first to compose herself. "Amy," she said, "you need a wig." Amy nodded, and they went over to the trunk.

Natalie pulled out a long, wavy, dark red wig. "This goes nicely with your dress," Natalie said approvingly.

Amy took the wig.

"Wait a minute," Reagan said, "What about that makeup stuff Ian was talking about? We don't know how to do that!"

Natalie smiled. "Ian does, and so do I," she said, "Remember, Lucians are masters of disguise. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." She grabbed the second makeup kit. "Check the hall, then let's go."

Amy peeked into the hall—all clear. She gave the two other girls a thumbs up, and they quickly dashed down the hall, and into Amy's room.

* * *

><p>Natalie put the finishing touches on Amy's face, and then sat back. "Voilá," she said, handing Amy a mirror. Amy looked at her reflection, and gasped.<p>

Her nose was small but rounded in a cute sort of way. Her cheekbones were higher, and her eyebrows (now dyed a dark red) were nicely curved. The only thing that Amy recognized on herself were her emerald green eyes, which Natalie insisted they didn't cover with contacts, since they matched her dress perfectly.

"Holy macaroni," Reagan breathed, staring at Amy. Natalie had already done her hair and makeup, and was sitting on the bed in her purple dress. Amy almost commented on how pretty she looked, but knew that she would probably get a punch in the stomach for it, so she refrained.

Natalie gave Amy a once over, and then smirked. "I think you're my best work yet," she said.

Amy laughed.

There was a knock at the door. "Quick, hide!" Natalie hissed. Amy jumped into the closet.

"Who is it?" Reagan asked, hand on the doorknob.

"It's me," came Nellie's voice. "I'm alone."

Amy poked her head out of the closet. "Let her in," she said, stepping out. Reagan opened the door, and Nellie came into the room. Reagan quickly shut the door behind her and locked it again.

"I just wanted to see how you girls look...Natalie, you look great!" Natalie was very pretty in her silky pink dress, her long, black hair cascading down her back in curls.

"Reagan, you look so pre...I mean, you look nice." Reagan sent her a thankful glance for not saying she looked pretty. She knew she would probably lose her nerve if she had said that.

"And Amy..." Nellie turned and saw Amy for the first time. Her jaw dropped. "No way," she said in disbelief.

Amy blushed. She wasn't used to looking like...like she looked then. The green dress fit her amazingly well, and Natalie had curled the wig so it fell down her back in soft ringlets.

Nellie whistled. "Amy, I think you'd look just as pretty, even without the wig and face...stuff. You look amazing." Nellie looked down at Amy's feet. "But you're barefoot," she observed.

Natalie sighed dramatically. "Yes," she said, "The trunk of disguises had purple flats for Reagan, and pink heels for me, but no green footwear at all."

Nellie thought for a moment, tapping her finger on her chin. Then she went to the door. "Be right back," she said, unlocking the door and running out.

She was back before Reagan could lock the door again. "I thought I still had these," she said, slipping through the door. She held up a pair of strappy green high heels. Natalie squealed with, in Reagan's opinion, unnecessary delight. "These are perfect!" she exclaimed. She took them from Nellie and handed them to Amy. "Put them on, put them on!" she said excitedly.

Amy slipped on the heels. They were just her size.

Nellie grinned. "Perfect," she said.

* * *

><p>"Perfect," Ian said, stepping back from Dan to admire his handiwork. Dan's face had entirely changed. He had a darker tan (straight from the Quick-Tanz can), a more prominent nose, and thicker eyebrows. The only thing that stayed the same on Dan were his green eyes, because Ian insisted they went well with his coat.<p>

Dan looked at Jonah, who did indeed look a little like Corbon Bleu. Dan turned to Hamilton. "How do we look?" he asked.

Hamilton tried to keep a straight face. "You look like you're ready to burst out into _We're All In This Together_ any second now." The boys burst out laughing, except, once again, Ian, who still didn't get it.

Ted checked the time. "It's almost six," he said, "We should get going."

Hamilton poked his head out into the hall. Nellie was walking by. "Nellie!" he said. "Where are the girls?"

Nellie turned. "If you mean Amy, Natalie, and Reagan, they left a few minutes ago." Nellie looked around him. "Can I see the disguises?"

Hamilton looked back into the room. "Can Nellie come in?" he asked.

"Yeah, let her in," Dan said.

Nellie entered the room. She saw Dan and Jonah and started laughing. "They look like..."

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Dan and Jonah said together.

"Are the girls wearing disguises?" Hamilton asked.

Nellie decided it would be okay to tell them. "Just Amy," she said.

"What is she wearing?" Ian asked innocently.

Nellie crossed her arms and smirked. "Like I'm gonna tell you," she said.

"Aw, c'mon, Nellie!" Dan said.

Nellie shook her head and grinned. "Why would I tell you?"

Ian pulled out his wallet. "Perhaps, we could come to an arrangement..."

Nellie started cracking up. "This is ridiculous!" she laughed. She looked up at Ian. "You know how you can find out what Amy's disguise is?" she asked.

"How?"

"Go to the dance, and then go up to every girl and ask her out. The one who says no will be Amy." She turned and walked out of the room.

Hamilton and Dan started cracking up. "Epic win," Dan laughed. Ian shot them a dirty look.

"Guys," Jonah said, tapping his watch, "We have to go!"

The boys filed out of the room and to the front door. They said goodbye to Madison, Sinead, and Ned, who would be working the control station in the den. All eight kids at the dance had a listening device and microphone on them, and could contact the apartment that way.

The boys went out the door and headed for the high school.

* * *

><p><strong>YAY! I FINALLY UPDATED! Sorry it's taken so long, but I started theater camp last week and I've been either super busy or super lazy. <strong>

**Responding to comments ((of which there weren't many, just sayin'. For those who DID comment, I love you guys!)):**

**bookgirl39: I don't hate Valentines Day that much, but I totally understand how you feel. You have my sympathy.**

**booklover51089: Hmm...interesting idea...are you a Lucian, by any chance?**

**theRockinCookie: YAY! Not a lot of mistakes! Okay, something you should know about me, I love a little drama. But I agree with you. Definitely dramatic. Sowwy!  
><strong>

**Randomness Is Cool: Okay, A. Love your username. B. Your fangirl friend is awesome. C. Thanks for catching that mistake, I'll go fix that right now. D. Two's, to's, too's: I know the differences, but sometimes I type so fast I mess them up. Thanks for pointing that out.**

**CloverThyne: Because you said you'd use Natalie's dart gun, I'd say you're probably a Lucian. NOTE TO ALL: YOU KNOW THERE ARE QUIZZES YOU CAN TAKE TO DETERMINE WHAT BRANCH YOU ARE IN? Also, yay! We can be singing buddies!**

**SqueakyDolphin6: Wow, for once I make a character IC. As for the OCC, yeah, I think we've already established that Natalie has changed a bit. As for Amy and Ian, yeah, I'm not making her give in THAT easily. It's gonna be a gradual thing. Also, thanks for pointing out the branch typo. Randomness Is Cool saw that, too. THEROCKINCOOKIE! SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT CATCHING THAT! ((jk, jk)).**  
><strong>What you said about the Vespers and Cahills confused me. Can you explain what you meant by that? It sounds like you have something there, I'm just not sure exactly what you meant.<strong>

**Thank you everyone who reviewed! I love you all! I'll try to update as soon as I can ((I need to update my "Six Years Before" story too! AHH!)).**

**So I showed my non-Cahill friend a picture of Ian Kabra, and she immediately fell in love with him ((after I mentioned that he's British)). Then I showed her a picture of Hamilton, and she totally dumped Ian and fell in love with Hamilton. Finally, I showed her the picture of Ned/Ted Starling, and all of my girl friends at camp died. Now they're all in love with the Starling twins.**

**My life is so weird.**

**Chapterly challenge: Send a picture of Ian, Hamilton, Jonah, and/or the Starling bros to an especially girlie friend of yours. Let me know her reaction. :-D**

**KEEP REVIEWING!**

**Until Chapter 11,**

**-KT**


	11. Chapter 11

Amy sat alone in one of the folding chairs along the wall of the cafeteria. The old lunchroom had been transformed into a world of pink, red, and white. Pink balloons, white streamers, red hearts, all adorned the walls.

Yeah, it was scary.

She had parted with Natalie and Reagan before they entered the school, so they wouldn't be seen together. Now she was bored.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she quickly turned around. It was that senior in all of the sports...what was his name? Oh, right, Will. Will Sorrel.

Will grinned at her. "Where's your date?" he asked.

Amy put on what she hoped was a dazzling smile (but seriously doubted it was) and said, "I came alone tonight."

Will raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked, breaking the word into three syllables. "I find that hard to believe. "

Amy shrugged.

Will held out his hand. "You wanna dance?" he asked.

"Sure."

Will pulled Amy onto the dance floor. "What's your name?" he asked.

_What's my name? _Amy thought. "Um...Madeline," she said, stealing Madeline Cahill's name. "But you can call me Maddie."

"Cool. I'm Will. Will Sorrel. You've probably heard of me."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Um, sorry, no," she said.

Will looked at her. "Captain of the football team? Point guard for the basketball team? Goalie for the soccer team?"

"Wow, you play a lot of sports," Amy said.

Will bobbed his head and gave a self-satisfied smirk. "Yeah, I know," he said.

They danced for a few minutes. Well, actually, Amy just swayed back and forth on her feet. It was Will who broke out into all of those crazy dance moves that made Amy want to back away slowly.

Over Will's shoulder, Amy saw Hamilton enter the gym. A few moments later, Ted appeared. Then Jonah. Then Dan. And, finally, Ian.

Amy glanced over to where Natalie was dancing with a boy in her grade. Natalie caught her eye and nodded.

* * *

><p>Ian stood to the side of the gym and spoke into the small microphone clipped to his tux, compliments of Ned Starling. "Can everyone hear me?"<p>

"Loud and clear." That was Ted.

"I hear you." That was Hamilton.

"Me too." That was Reagan.

"I hear you, bro." That was Jonah.

"Yeah, yeah." That was Natalie.

"Ten-four." That was Dan.

"Yes." The last soft response was from Amy.

Ian looked around, searching for the others. Dan and Hamilton were at the refreshments table, Jonah was letting a group of girls touch his 'fro, Ted was surveying the room from the corner. Natalie was dancing, and Reagan was sitting in a chair, looking bored.

"Amy, state your position," Ian said into the microphone.

"Nice try."

"It was worth a shot."

"Guys," Dan's voice came. "You _have_ to try these cookies. They're awesome, man!"

Ian stepped out of the shadows.

* * *

><p>Reagan rested her head in her hands and sighed. <em>Bored, bored, so bored<em>, she thought.

"Hey," a voice said. She looked up.

Dan stood there in his Zach Efron wig and grinned. Reagan almost made some remark about how ridiculous he looked, but then remembered that she wasn't supposed to know who he was.

"Hi," she said.

Dan sat in the seat next to her. "I'm Zach," he said.

Reagan put an innocent look on her face. "Oh, like Zach Efron?" she asked.

She could tell that Dan was having trouble holding down laughter. "Yeah, some people even say I look like him," he said.

"Really?" Reagan pretended to study him for a moment. Then she shook her head. "Sorry, I don't see it."

Dan shrugged.

Reagan looked at him. "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked, acting like she vaguely recognized him.

Dan shook his head quickly. "No, I don't think so," he said.

"Oh. Okay."

"Guess I must have one of those faces," Dan said awkwardly.

Reagan nodded.

The two of them sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. Then Dan did something that he wouldn't have had the courage to do if her wasn't in disguise.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked Reagan.

Reagan smiled. "Okay," she said. The two of them walked onto the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Hamilton was eating pink frosted cookies from the refreshments table, when a girl walked up to him. "You're Hamilton, right?" she asked.<p>

Hamilton wiped cookie crumbs from his mouth and looked at her. "Yeah. Who are you?"

"Lily Barker," the girl said, tucking her light brown hair behind her ear. "I'm in your Spanish class."

"Oh," Hamilton said, remembering her now, "Um...hola."

Lily laughed. "That's funny," she said.

Hamilton grinned.

"Hey, I heard you were trying out for the spring football team," she said.

Hamilton furrowed his brow. "You did?" he asked, not remembering ever telling anybody that. In fact, he didn't remember even thinking about joining the football team. Heck, he didn't even know there _was_ a spring football team.

Lily looked at him. "You _are_ going to try out, aren't you?" she asked.

"Um...I guess. Maybe. I have a lot to do in my free time."

"Oh? Do you have a job?"

Hamilton squirmed awkwardly. "Er, no...but I have homework and other...stuff."

"Well, think about it, okay?" Lily asked, putting a hand on his arm. "We could really use you on the team."

Hamilton forgot his name for a moment.

* * *

><p><strong>So I know some of that was kind of random, and this chapter was sort of short-ish, but hopefully everything will make sense soon.<strong>

**The reason why I've been taking awhile to update chapters is because I've been going to camp and doing a lot of stuff lately. Next week is PACKED for me, so I'm probably not going to update until the week after. *sad face***

**I'm still writing this story on my iPod, but I'm way ahead of where we are now, so I keep saying to myself, "I can't wait to post this on fanfiction!" And then I'm like, "GAH! At this rate, I'm not going to post this chapter until next spring!"**

**I also wrote a one-shot on my iPod, which I will be posting soon. And I think I finished the next chapter for Six Years Before, which will also be posted soon. YAHOO!**

**Responses to Reviews:**

**therockinCookie: Yeah, the guy who modeled Ian...well, half the girls I show it to go, "EW!" And the other half go, "HE'S SO HOT!" I have no opinion, for some reason. NOTE TO EVERYONE: If you did my last chapterly challenge and showed the pictures to your friends, review and let me know their reactions!**

**CloverThyne: There is one official quiz that you take when you register on the official 39 Clues website, and then there's a whole bunch of fan-made ones. This is my favorite that I've seen: .com/quizzes/16264291/what-39-clues-branch-are-you-in  
><strong>

**PinkGoesWithEverything: Thank you for exploding my review box with your many comments. JK! Your comments keep me alive! ((And that goes for all of you)). Let me see if I can respond to some of your comments:**

**Many people have pointed out that I kind of screwed up on Dan's age/grade. I AM FINALLY GONNA GET OFF OF MY LAZY BUTT AND FIX THAT! Dan will now be a freshman like me, yay!**

**Okay, you can be my official Amian fan now. You have earned that right.**

**I was trying to decide what Troy's last name would be, so I was thinking of last names of book characters I like. I didn't want to use Potter, Weasley, Granger, Everdeen, Mellark, Ride, and I obviously couldn't use Cahill, so I finally chose Jackson. I LOVE TOYING WITH MINDS! *evil laughter***

**The way you feel about Deagan is the way I feel about Natan. Except that my feeling is stronger. DEAL! :-)**

**Dan is Drew? Um...never really thought about that...I'll think about it...YAY RAVIOLI!**

**Okay, I'm done. Thank you everyone who reviewed. I love you all! Although this chapter kind of stunk, STAY TUNED! It gets better!**

**Until chapter XII,**

**-KT**


	12. Chapter 12

It was official. Will Sorrel was _way_ too full of himself.

He and Amy were sitting together in a corner of the gym, having a conversation. Actually, Amy didn't think it was conversation, because she was pretty sure a conversation involved two or more people talking.

So let's rephrase that.

It was official. Will Sorrel was _way_ too full of himself.

He and Amy were sitting together in a corner of the gym. Amy was listening to Will's monologue, which basically involved every thing from sports, to school, to personal beliefs. And it was all Will, all the time.

_Oh my god_, Amy thought, _this guy is in love with himself. _

Amy waited until Will took a breath (she waited awhile for that), then said, "Will, can you get me some punch?" She smiled at him.

Will stood up. "Sure," he said. "Just remind me to tell you about the swim meet that I won when I come back. Wait here." Will disappeared into the crowd.

Amy jumped up and ran out the side door into the cool night. She leaned against the wall and let out a breath.

"Yeah, it was too much for me, too," said a voice. Amy whirled around.

Ian was standing in the shadows, his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. Amy almost turned on her heels and went back inside, but then remembered that she wasn't Amy Cahill anymore. She was Maddy, and she had no idea who this boy was.

"Oh, yeah," she said, making her voice an octave higher than it usually was. "It's really...um, wild in there, huh?" _Please don't stutter, please don't stutter..._

Ian nodded. "You know Stephanie Turner? She's been following me all night. I had to duck out here to lose her."

Amy looked at him. "Why were you avoiding her?" she asked.

"I'm just not interested in her," Ian said, shrugging.

"Did you come here alone?"

Ian looked sad. "Yes," he said. "I wanted to ask this one girl, but she...well, I don't think she likes me very much."

"Why not?"

"I...well, I haven't given her much reason to trust me," Ian admitted. "And she doesn't. She doesn't want to trust me anymore. I guess, to her, I'm just a liar and a traitor."

Ian looked at Amy. "I'm sorry," he said, "You didn't come out here to listen to me ramble."

Amy smiled. "It's okay," she said. "It's better than listening to Will Sorrel talk about all of his football achievements."

Ian laughed. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Maddy." Amy's breath caught in her throat—how long could this go before he recognized her?

"I'm Ian," Ian said.

Amy smiled. "So, who is this mysterious girl who thinks you're a traitor?"

Ian smiled at the thought. "Do you know Amy Cahill?" he asked.

Amy pretended to think. "I think so," she said slowly. "About...my height, reddish-brown hair?"

"And really pretty green eyes," Ian said, smiling softly.

Amy quickly averted her eyes. "Yeah, I think I know her," she said. "Why do you like her?"

Ian stared out into the darkness. "She's really smart, for starters. She's sensitive, and nice, and..."

"Sure," Amy interrupted. "That's a nice description and all, but what is it about her that makes you like her?"

Ian sighed. "She's the only one who sees me as a person, who treats me like an equal," he said softly. "I don't know what it is about her. She's just...amazing."

It took every inch of Amy's willpower not to react. Painfully, she said, "Then why don't you tell her that?"

"I've tried!" Ian said, frustrated, "But she refuses to listen."

Amy realized with a jolt that he was right. She didn't listen—was that his fault, or hers?

Th two leaned against the wall in a comfortable silence. Amy finally spoke, "What do you want her to do?"

Ian looked up. "Pardon?"

Amy looked at him. "If she agreed to listen to you, and forgave you, what would you expect from her?"

Ian ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm not sure," he said softly, "Friendship. Trust. Someone to talk to. I'm not sure."

Ian looked at Amy. "All I really want is her trust again."

Amy smiled a little. "I think that I would trust you," she said.

"Thanks," Ian said, looking up.

He stared at Amy, staring at her green eyes. Amy could see the wheels turning in his head.

Amy decided that it was time to leave. "I have to go, my friend will be looking for me," she said. She turned quickly.

Ian grabbed her arm. "Wait," he said. Amy turned around, keeping her eyes downcast. "Yes?"

"Look at me."

Amy slowly looked up. Ian stared into her eyes. "Amy?"

Amy gave him a tiny grin. "Surprise," she said weakly.

* * *

><p>Ted scanned the room from a corner. He had special contacts that allowed him to zoom in on and record anything he saw. He was also keeping an eye on the Cahills in the crowd. Natalie was sitting, talking to another girl, Hamilton was dancing with a girl, Dan and Reagan were talking, and Jonah was dancing.<p>

But where was Ian?

He decided to have everyone call in. "Cahills, report," he said into his mic.

* * *

><p>Dan heard Ted's voice call them, and quickly excused himself from Reagan. He didn't want her to suspect who he was.<p>

Reagan gave him a knowing smile that he didn't entirely understand. Then he stepped out of the doors into the hallway.

"How is everyone?" Ted asked.

"I'm good," Reagan's voice said.

"Me too," Dan added.

"Dude, did you see the girl I was dancing with?" Hamilton asked. "She's awesome!"

"Sorry, Ham, I didn't see her. I was talking to...to people."

"Anyone in particular?" Reagan asked innocently.

"No..."

"I'm fine," Natalie's voice interrupted.

"Yo, it's all good, dude," Jonah's voice came.

"I'm okay," Amy's voice came.

"Me too," said Ian.

"Ian, where are you?" Ted asked.

"Outside. I needed some air."

Something in his voice made Dan suspicious, but he ignored it. Dan looked over his shoulder and saw a boy and girl at the end of the hallway. They were standing close together, talking in hushed voices. The girl had light blond hair, which she tossed over her shoulder as she spoke. The boy was talking urgently, but then he looked up and saw Dan. He motioned for the girl to follow him, and they turned a corner and disappeared.

Dan spoke into his microphone. "I just saw two kids out in the hallway. They look kind of suspicious. I'm gonna follow them."

"I'll go with you," Reagan said.

"But..." Dan started. Then he realized that her voice wasn't coming from his earpiece. He turned around.

"Let's go, Zach," Reagan said with a smile, brushing past him.

Dan stared after her for a second, then ran after her, stammering, "But...but, how did you...?"

* * *

><p>After they had reported in, Ian looked at Amy. "What does this mean?" he asked.<p>

Amy looked away. "That Natalie's a really good makeup artist?" she asked.

Ian kept looking at her.

Amy looked up at him, "Ian..."

Suddenly she heard a voice calling her name. Well, she heard a voice calling Maddy.

Amy groaned. "Will's looking for me. I have to go."

Ian raised an eyebrow, still looking a little shocked. "You'd rather hang out with that swelled head than me?"

Amy smirked. "Yeah, definitely." She left Ian wondering whether that was sarcasm or not.

* * *

><p>Reagan and the unmasked Dan crept down the dimly lit hallway. They paused by a corner, and then peeked around it.<p>

The girl and boy were just a few feet away. Reagan quickly pulled Dan back around the corner. Then they listened:

"I don't see why you have to be so paranoid," came the boy's voice.

"I'm not paranoid. I just have this strange feeling," said the girl.

"Last time you had a strange feeling, you thought that guy was from the CIA."

"He was going through our mail!"

"He was the _mailman_."

"Okay, maybe he was, but this is different."

"It was? Then tell me, why do you think this girl is a Cahill?"

"It's her last name. Duh."

Dan and Reagan looked at each other with wide eyes. She was talking about Amy!

"So? Lot's of people have that name. It's fairly common."

There was silence for a few moments. Then the boy continued, "What about the new boy? The one you're always hanging around? Don't tell me you think he's a Cahill too?"

"Will you relax? It's personal. Why would I think Ian's a Cahill? They're all a bunch of dorky nobodies who got some lucky breaks. Ian's not like that."

Dan and Reagan covered their mouths to keep from busting out laughing.

The boy sighed. "Whatever," he said. "I have a girl waiting for me. We'll talk about this later."

The two Cahills heard his footsteps coming towards them. They quickly shuffled into the shadows. The boy walked by them and went down the hall. The girl followed a few moments after. Dan recognized her immediately.

It was Stephanie Turner.

* * *

><p><strong>Does that come as a surprise to anyone? Yeah, didn't think so. Anyway, yay! I updated! For the next three weeks I have nothing to do but update stories and summer reading ((anyone ever read <em>1984<em> by George Orwell?)).**

**So I wouldn't be surprised ((actually, I'm pretty sure I've read some)) if stories have already been written when Ian confesses is true feelings in front of Amy is disguise. I _know _it's been done where Ian's in disguise. So, I'm sorry, but as I've said before, I started writing this before I even discovered , so...**

**Anyway.**

**I'm going to say this now. SOME OF THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE MEDUSA PLOT HAS BEEN RELEASED ONLINE! NOT THE PROLOGUE, THE ACTUAL CHAPTER UNO! I'm not going to try to post the link, because whenever I try to post a link, it gets screwed up. Just Google _The Medusa Plot Chapter One Sneak Peek_. So as to not give any spoilers to those who don't want to know about it, at the end of this author's note, I'm going to scream something about the first chapter. So don't read all the way to the end if you don't want the spoiler.**

**Okay, I'm going to try the link: .com/books?id=LbMylCEA498C&pg=PT14&lpg=PT14&dq=the+medusa+plot+chapter+one&source=bl&ots=XtUD78NcaF&sig=dmdO03Qc0bR63RpqP1G6K2IY5VE&hl=en&ei=2vlCTvGBHsfKgQeGp6zWCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false**

**If it doesn't work, just Google it.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**CloverThyne: I edited the link to the quiz that I posted in the last chapter, so hopefully you can use it now. Or you can always just go on Google and search for _39 Clues branch quizzes_.**

**bookgirl39: You might want to hear that spoiler I'm going to scream at the end.**

**sarlovesoccer: Thanks, I think...nope, I just checked it. The link still isn't fixed. OKAY, CLOVERTHYNE! JUST GO ON GOOGLE! I GIVE UP! As for Deagan stories ((that's just what I'm gonna call them now)), I really haven't seen that many. There are a few with only one chapter that haven't been updated for awhile. EVERYONE: IF YOU KNOW ANY GOOD DANXREAGAN STORIES, PLEASE INCLUDE IT IN YOUR REVIEW OF THIS CHAPTER! Also, I just started reading this Natan story by Nataliepark called _The Wedding Planner, _and I'm actually kind of enjoying it, for a non-Natan person.**

**PinkGoesWithEverything: I love your enthusiasm.**

**nyteri: Guilty as charged. I fixed it.**

**Everyone who reviewed: THANK YOU!**

**Until Chapter Thirteen,**

**-KT**

**P.S. Okay, stop reading now if you don't want to hear the spoiler.**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**AMY IS DATING EVAN TOLLIVER! OFFICIALLY! IAN IS GOING TO BE SO JEALOUS!**

**At first I was angry, and I was running around the house and screaming choice words at Evan Tolliver, and then while I was in the middle of throwing darts at his name, I was suddenly like, "Wait. If Evan is dating Amy...then Ian's gonna be jealous...WHOO-HOO!"**

**Thank the gods no one was home. My parents would've locked me up in a rubber room.**


	13. Chapter 13

Amy walked through the crowd until she found herself face to face with Will. "Hey," he said, handing her a glass of punch. "I thought you left!"

Amy smiled and accepted the drink, and then stole Ian's line, "I was just getting some air." She saw Ian come inside through the side door, glance at her, and then disappear into the crowd.

Will smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty crowded, isn't it? You want to duck outside?"

Amy shook he head. "No, I'm okay." She put her punch down on a table.

"C'mon, let's go outside," Will persisted.

Amy looked at Will. "I said I didn't want to go outside." She started to get a cold feeling creeping down her spine.

"Oh, I think you'll do what I say," Will said softly, and Amy felt a gun being pressed into her stomach. Will was standing way too close.

"Just walk outside. Don't talk to anyone. One false move, and you're dead."

"You wouldn't shoot me in front of all these people." Amy surprised herself how cool she sounded.

"Are you sure?" Amy took one look at Will's face and realized that, no, he would not hesitate to shoot.

Amy looked at him. "Who are you?"

Will smirked at her. "That's what I want to find out about you," he said. "Now move."

Amy couldn't call for help over comms. She couldn't wave over Hamilton, who was dancing just a few feet away. She was trapped.

So she walked.

* * *

><p>Dan and Reagan followed Stephanie Turner back to the cafeteria. They watched from the door as she weaved through the crowd towards the side door. They followed her across the floor and out the door.<p>

Stephanie turned a corner outside, and Dan and Reagan quickly followed. They peeked around the corner, and Reagan gasped quietly.

Amy was bound to a folding chair, her arms behind her back and her feet tied to the legs. A piece of duct tape covered her mouth, and she was struggling, in vain, to get free.

Dan pulled Reagan back into the shadows. "What's wrong?" Dan asked her. "Who is that?" He didn't recognize his sister, disguised as someone else.

Reagan looked at him. "Dan," she said, "that's Amy."

* * *

><p>Amy struggled against her bonds, and tried to scream. Will slapped her head. "Shut up," he said.<p>

Stephanie appeared, and Amy stared, wide-eyed, as she stood next to Will and studied Amy.

"Well, well, well," she said. "Who do we have here?"

Amy inwardly sighed, relieved that Stephanie didn't recognize her. But if they discovered the disguise...

"A Cahill, I'm assuming," Will said.

Stephanie glared at him. "You THINK?" she said dangerously. "Why aren't you sure?"

Will scrambled for words. "I meant, I know she's a Cahill, I just don't know who exactly. She says her name is Maddy."

"You idiot," Stephanie said, "The name's probably fake. There are hundreds of Cahills in the world, what makes you think this one is too?"

"I saw her talking to another guy outside," he said. "Couldn't see his face. It was just suspicious, that's all."

Stephanie smacked him. "You can't just go around waving guns at every person you think is a Cahill!" she hissed. "What if she's not?"

Will shrugged. "She could still be useful," he said.

Stephanie glared at him, then turned on Amy, grabbing the gun from Will. Then she ripped the duct tape off of Amy's mouth.

"Tell me," she said to Amy, "if you're a Cahill. And don't you lie to me, I'll know if you're lying." She pointed the gun at Amy.

Amy stared at the gun. It was a tranquilizer dart gun, and was horribly familiar. It was the same type of gun Natalie had pointed at them before trapping them in the cave. It was the last thing she saw when the Kabras betrayed her. When Ian betrayed her. And here she was. Betrayed again.

Amy glared coldly at Stephanie. "Y-you won't g-get away with this," she said.

Stephanie laughed gleefully. "What do you know? Will, I think you actually caught one!" She held Amy's chin in her hand, her pink-painted fingernails digging into her skin. "What are you? A Janus? A Tomas? An Ekat? Perhaps a Lucian—I've always had a small admiration for Lucians." She smirked.

Amy glared at her coldly. "No," she said. "I'm none of those. I'm a Madrigal."

She saw fear in Stephanie's eyes—the same fear the other Cahills used to have towards the Madrigals.

Stephanie quickly let go of Amy like her hand was on fire. "Kill her," she said, tossing the gun to Will. "Kill the Madrigal. We'll hang her body on the flagpole out front—the other Cahills will get the message."

Will gave an evil smile and pointed the gun at Amy. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said. His finger moved to the trigger.

And that was when all Cahills broke loose.

* * *

><p><strong>So it's not <em>that <em>cliff-hanger-y, because now you kind of can guess what happened, but I HAD to include that last sentence.**

**Is anyone surprised that Will is in on it, too? I really need to stop being so predictable. Eventually I'm going to make a new character who _won't _turn out to be a Vesper.**

**Anyway.  
><strong>

**Response to Reviews:**

**theRockinCookie: THANKS. Now I _really _want to read 1984. And YAY! Glad you like Deagan, too!**

**I'mDifferent-GetOverIt: Vesper=Bad guys: Pretty much all you need to know. I hope by now you've read it! **

**SqueakyDolphin6: Dan, Amy, and Jonah were in disguise...just..._because_. They FELT like being in disguise. As for what you said about the Medusa Plot, you're probably right. Now I'm depressed again. But at least Ian cares about his sister! MEDUSA PLOT IN TWO WEEKS! I'M SO PSYCHED! **

**Madrigal Agent: ! The sneak peek of the Medusa Plot I saw was only, like, one page. THANK YOU FOR POSTING THAT LINK! Here's the link for anyone who wants to read it: ./pdf/Medusa_ ((If it doesn't work–again–look in reviews))**

**TheNinjaNerd: See above.**

**EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED: THANK YOU! SORRY I'M WRITING ALL IN CAPS LOCKS, BUT I'M STILL SUPERMEGAEXCITED AFTER READING THE FULL SNEAK PEEK!**

**Okay, I'm calm now.**

**Anyway.**

**Keep reviewing. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll update soon–I still have no life except high school orientation on Thursday and...NO! I'M GOING ON VACATION NEXT WEEK! Okay, I'll try to update once more this week before leaving.**

**Until Chapter 14,**

**-KT  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Me: I think it's about time for another disclaimer.**

**Ian: Not me. I'm gone! *runs away***

**Me: Dang it...fine, how about...**

**Nellie: Get the Kabra chick!  
><strong>

**Natalie: What? No! I don't want to!**

**Me: You must.  
><strong>

**Natalie: No! I can't do it! You can't make me–oh! Like this? KTRose12 doesn't own The 39 Clues or any of its characters.**

**Nellie: *laughs* *faints*  
><strong>

**Me: See how easy that was?  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Dan let out a war whoop, and the seven Cahills jumped out of the shadows.<p>

Hamilton ran forward and knocked the gun out of Will's hand. It went skittering across the pavement, but Jonah stuck his foot out and caught it. He tossed it to Natalie.

Meanwhile, Stephanie tried to get away. Reagan ran over and sent her sprawling with a single punch. Stephanie fought, but Ian grabbed her arms and yanked them behind her back. "Hello, Stephanie," he said.

Stephanie turned and looked at him. "You!" she exclaimed, "You're a..."

"A Cahill," Ian finished rather cheerily. "Yes, a Lucian, in fact. No wonder you had a 'small admiration' for me."

Dan pulled out his Swiss Army knife and quickly cut Amy's bonds. He helped her stand. "Are you okay?" he asked her worriedly.

Amy nodded, rubbing her arms. "I'm fine," she said shakily.

Dan gave the cut ropes to Ted, who quickly tied Will and Stephanie together.

"How did you find me?" Amy asked, joining the others.

Hamilton gave her a wry smile. "Well, it started when my dance partner tried to pull a gun on me in the hallway," he said. "So I was forced to knock her out."

Stephanie gasped. "Michelle!"

Hamilton turned to her. "Oh, do you know her?" he asked with mock surprise. "Don't worry, she's not dead. She's just taking a nap in the janitor's closet."

"Dan and I found Blondie here talking to another guy in one of the hallways," Reagan continued. "We followed her here, then went to tell the others. Ham had already taken care of that Michelle girl."

"And another guy I danced with," Natalie added. "He was acting strangely, so I brought him into the hallway and he tried to pull the same trick. Ham was waiting behind the door."

"Jerry," Will muttered. "Stupid kid."

Ted was on the phone with Mr. McIntyre. "Yes, sir, we'll just...what? Oh, okay. I got it. We'll see you soon. Bye." He closed his cell phone. "Mr. M's gonna bring the SUV around the back of the soccer field."

"Just let me get the two sleeping beauties from the janitor's closet," Hamilton said. "Meet me by the gym doors."

Hamilton went back to the cafeteria. Ian and Jonah lifted Stephanie and Will by the ropes and legs, and the group walked around the building to the gym.

Dan and Amy walked side by side. Amy caught Dan glancing at her worriedly. "I'm _fine_," she said to him.

"I thought you were going to die," he said in a surprisingly soft voice. "When he lifted the gun to your head, I thought you were going to die."

Amy looked at him. "Why are you so hung up over this?" she asked. "You've seen me almost die before."

"This was different," Dan said. "Those other times, I was almost going to die too. This time, it was just you. If we hadn't surprised him, the bullet could've reached you before I could." Dan looked down. "I was scared."

"_You_ were scared? I was the one with the gun pointed at me. How do you think I felt?"

Dan smiled a little. "Did you feel like bursting into song?"

"Hey, you're the one dressed like Zach Efron, not me."

They laughed softly.

The group reached the gym doors. A minute later, the doors swung open, and Hamilton emerged carrying two unconscious bodies. "I got them. Let's go." They walked across the soccer field and waited in the shadows by the road.

Two yellow headlights sliced through the night, and the SUV pulled up to the curb. "Need a ride?" Nellie asked through the open window.

Dan scrambled into the passenger seat. "Where's Mr. McIntyre?" he asked.

"He had something he needed to finish up back home, so I volunteered to pick you all up. That, and I made a bet with Madison that you caught more than two people." She glanced out the window at the captives. "Yes! She owes me five bucks!"

Jonah and Hamilton threw the tied up kids into the trunk, and the Cahills piled in.

Amy was last, and she realized that there was no more room for her. "It's okay, I'll walk home," she said.

"I'll go with you." Ian climbed out of the car.

Hamilton shut the door, and the SUV drove off. Amy and Ian started walking.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Amy pulled off her wig and the latex makeup that covered her face. She stuffed them into her purse, and enjoyed feeling the cool, evening breeze on her face.

Ian finally spoke. "I'm glad that you're okay," he said.

"Yeah, me too," Amy said.

"When I heard Dan over the microphone," Ian said, "he said that they had you. I got scared. We all ran out the doors as fast as we could. I thought we were too late." He swallowed. "I wanted it to be me, not you."

"Ian–"

"No, it's true. If anyone should die, it should be me. I deserve it."

Amy was silent for a moment. And then she spoke. "Are you done?" she asked.

Ian looked at her questioningly.

"Good," she continued. "Because I have something to say. I was wrong. Sure, you've done bad things. Things that haven't given me the best reasons to trust you. But we all know that it wasn't your fault. It was the way you and Natalie were brought up. You didn't know any better."

"But–"

"I'm not done." They walked under a streetlight, and Amy could see his face filled with emotion that she couldn't understand. She continued. "I was wrong," she said. "I was blinded by what you used to be, and refused to see who you are now. I thought that everything you said to me was a lie. But when I talked to you earlier, I realized that you had no reason to lie to Maddy. So it must be true."

"It was," Ian said softly. "Every word."

They stopped in the shadows and looked at each other. "I sort of trust you, Ian," Amy said. "And I sort of believe you."

"Sort of?"

Amy smiled a little. "Give me time."

Ian looked at her in surprise, and then slowly smiled.

In the sky above them, the stars sparkled against the darkness.

* * *

><p>"WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS!" Dan and Reagan burst into the apartment, singing at the top of their lungs. Natalie followed behind them. "I hate that song," she muttered.<p>

Ned ran into the front hall. "Did you get them?" he asked excitedly.

Jonah and Ted walked in carrying the tied-up Stephanie and Will. Hamilton was right behind them with the unconscious Michelle and Jerry under each arm.

Nellie walked in behind him. "Madison!" Nellie yelled.

"What?" Madison entered the room and saw the captives. "Dang it!" she cried.

Nellie waggled her fingers in the universal sign for _hand it over_. "Fork over the money," she said cheerfully.

Madison dug into her pocket and begrudgingly gave Nellie a $5 bill.

"That's what you get for having little faith in us," Hamilton said cheerfully, dropping the two kids onto the floor.

Fiske entered the room, a cell phone pressed to his ear. "Okay," he was saying. "Yes, just honk twice." He closed the phone.

"I have some Madrigal agents coming to pick these four up," he said. "They'll be here in five minutes." He looked around at them. "Where's Amy and Ian?" he asked.

"They walked home," Natalie said nonchalantly.

Fiske decided not to press the topic. Instead, he turned to Nellie. "Did they see the apartment from the outside?" he asked her.

Reagan stepped up, holding four strips of cloth. "Dan had the idea to blindfold them," she said. "So they didn't see anything."

Stephanie mumbled something through the duck tape over her mouth. Dan yanked it off. "What was that?" he asked.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" she snarled at Fiske. "You'll pay for this, old man."

Fiske's mouth twitched at the corners. "My dear young Vesper, do you have any idea who _I_ am?"

Stephanie stayed quiet.

"I," Fiske continued, "am a Madrigal. So you better watch what you say to me."

Stephanie and Will's faces blanched. They glanced at each other and shut up.

Two honks sounded from outside. Fiske clapped his hands together. "That will be them," he said. He grabbed four large body bags. "Put them in here, so the neighbors won't get suspicious. I'll confirm the driver's identity and come back for them." He went out the door before Dan could ask him where he got the body bags from.

Hamilton, Dan, and Reagan stuffed an outraged Stephanie and a struggling Will into two of the body bags. Then they turned to the two unconscious Vespers. "Jeez, Ham," Dan said. "You sure hit 'em hard."

Hamilton grinned and put the bodies in the other two bags.

Fiske came back in. "I've confirmed the driver's identity. Hamilton, can you manage all four bags?"

Hamilton lifted the body bags experimentally and grinned. "Easy as pie," he said, and then followed Fiske out the door.

"Which doesn't mean much," Reagan murmured, "considering the fact that he can't bake for his life."

Dan and Natalie laughed.

* * *

><p>The thirteen Cahills and Nellie sat together in the den, discussing the night's developments.<p>

Hamilton, Jonah, and Ted were sprawled out on one couch, Dan, Reagan, Madison, and Natalie on the other (well, Natalie's upbringing didn't allow her to "sprawl", so she just sat). Amy had collapsed in one of the armchairs, and Ian sat on the arm. Nellie, Sinead, and Ned were lounging on the floor, and Fiske sat in another armchair.

Mr. McIntyre paced at the front of the room. "Now," he said, "tonight's proceedings were good. Exemplary, in fact. Much, much more was achieved then we could have hoped for. You kids did amazingly tonight."

Nellie started a round of applause. Dan stood up and bowed. Reagan pulled him back down. "The last thing we need is for you to get a swelled head," she said, rolling her eyes.

Mr. McIntyre continued. "However, it has come to our attention that some changes need to be made after tonight."

The kids looked at one another questioningly.

Fiske cleared his throat. "Amy, Dan, you won't be going back to school for awhile."

Dan jumped up again. "YES!" he yelled, punching his fist into the air.

Amy had a different reaction. "But why?" she asked.

Fiske sighed. "We have been careless," he said, "using your real last name. Now that we have taken the four Vesper children, the Vespers will he on the alert. They will discover two children named Cahill right here in Boston, and immediately get rid of you."

Amy shivered, and Ian put a hand on her arm.

"Therefore," Fiske continued, "you will be staying home."

Amy nodded, looking solemn. Dan was a different story.

"Free!" he yelled, running out of the room. "Free at last!"

Reagan face-palmed.

Fiske yelled after his great-nephew, "Don't get too excited, my boy," he said cheerfully. "You'll still have to do schoolwork here!"

The apartment was silent for a moment. Then Dan re-entered the room, walked quietly back to the couch, and slumped down next to Reagan again.

"Darn it," he muttered. Reagan patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Amy rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics.

Natalie raised her hand. "Mr. McIntyre? When will our next mission be?"

Mr. McIntyre raised an eyebrow. "You're ready for another mission already? Don't you want to wait a week or two?"

The other kids shook their heads violently. Then they noticed the twinkle in Mr. McIntyre's eye, and realized that he was just kidding.

"Tomorrow night, at the Dhine residence on Sycamore Avenue, Mr. and Mrs. Dhine will be hosting a dinner party."

Mr. McIntyre paused and looked at the others. "Mr. and Mrs. Dhine also happen to be Vespers."

"Alright!" Dan whooped, quickly getting over his depression. "Let's do it!"

"Unfortunately," Mr. McIntyre continued, "the party is for adults only. So for those 5' 3'' and under..."

Dan, Natalie, Reagan, and Madison all groaned.

"The rest of you," Mr. McIntyre said, turning to the older kids, "will be attending under false identities."

He searched his pockets until he pulled out six engraved invitations. He handed one to Amy, Hamilton, Ian, Sinead, Jonah, and Nellie.

"Ned and Ted will remain here and man the communications unit," Fiske said.

Amy studied her invitation:

_Miss Rebecca Forringer_  
><em>is invited to a formal dinner at the Dhine Residence.<em>  
><em>February 14th, at 6:00 PM.<em>  
><em>Dinner will be served at 6:30 sharp.<em>  
><em>Formal dress required.<em>

"Ah, a black tie dinner," Ian said approvingly. Natalie muttered something unladylike under her breath from the couch.

Mr. McIntyre finally turned to the younger Cahills. "Don't worry," he said. "All four of you will still take part in tomorrow's mission."

"YES!" Dan, Reagan, and Madison jumped up from the couch excitedly.

Natalie smiled. "Well, that's a relief," she said.

Mr. McIntyre spread a map on the coffee table in front of the couch. "This is the map of the Dhine estate," he said.

Hamilton whistled. "Dang," he said. "It's huge."

Ian and Natalie exchanged a glance but didn't say anything. The Dhine estate was about a tenth the size of the Kabra estate.

But they didn't talk about that anymore.

Mr. McIntyre pointed to the woods behind the main house. "Dan, Reagan, Madison, and Natalie—you four will be stationed at the edge of the woods." Then he pointed to the main house. "This is the main house, where the party will be," he said. "There will be security at the door, but hopefully these invitations will get you in."

Amy looked up at the lawyer. "Hopefully?"

Mr. McIntyre smiled grimly. "An 82% chance."

* * *

><p><strong>How are the odds?<strong>

**Yay! Another chapter updated! Hope you all liked it!**

**So originally during that little moment with Amy and Ian, I had Ian kiss Amy. That was, like, seven months ago. Then at one point I decided, nah, it's too soon. Later on there will be another point where I had The Kiss. I plan on changing that, too. I'M SHOWING RESTRAINT, PEOPLE! GIVE ME CREDIT!**

**Response to Reviews:**

**Well, I'm just going to respond to everyone: Thanks for reviewing!**

**SO WHO READ THE MEDUSA PLOT? Bought and read it yesterday and it was EPIC! Don't worry, I'm not going to say any spoilers ((no matter how much I want to...))**

**I spent the first half of the afternoon reading it, and the rest of the afternoon and evening adding quotes from it on Goodreads. And the next one is coming out in December! It's gonna be the best Christmas/Hanukkah present EVER!**

**So yesterday, after I finished the Medusa Plot, my mom dragged me out shopping. In one store the started playing Miley Cyrus' _See You Again _over the PA, and since I had just finished the Medusa Plot, I made up a 39 Clues parody to the chorus. And now I can't get it out of my head! GAAHHHH!**

**But anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and please review!**

**Until chapter 15,**

**-KT  
><strong>


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, Amy woke up and got dressed. She walked down the hall to the kitchen.

"'Morning, Nellie," she said sleepily, getting out the orange juice.

"'Morning," Nellie said. "It's your turn to wake up the troops."

Amy blew a stray hair out of her face. "I'll try my best," she sighed.

She walked down the hall and started banging on doors. "Wake up!" she yelled. "Breakfast!"

Slowly, waking-up sounds emerged from behind the doors.

"Huh," she said to herself. "That was easier than I expected."

She returned to the kitchen triumphantly. "Done."

* * *

><p>Hamilton, Madison, Reagan, Natalie, and Ian had just left for school. Dan and Amy sat on the couch and looked at each other.<p>

"Now what?" Dan asked.

Amy shrugged.

Fiske walked into the room. "Shouldn't you two be at school?" he asked, a teasing twinkle in his eye.

"Ha, ha," Dan said. "Funny man."

"We have nothing to do," Amy said.

Dan shot her a look. _Never tell an adult we have nothing to do, _his eyes said. _He'll just make us do something we don't want to._

_It's better than sitting around doing nothing all day, _Amy beamed back at him. _I'd rather do homework than watch you yawn again._

_I'd rather do homework than watch you make sappy eyes at Ian Kabra again._

_You little..._

Fiske interrupted their ocular conversation. "You should do some work for school," he said. "Your teachers sent some homework."

_See?_

_Oh, be quiet._

_I am being quiet._

_Forget it.  
><em>

"Or," Fiske continued, "I do suppose you can stake out the Dhine estate for tonight's party..."

The two siblings sat up. "We'll do that," they said in unison.

* * *

><p>Jonah pulled the SUV into a parking space down the road from the entrance to the Dhine residence. "This is it," he said. "You two ready?" Amy nodded from the passenger's seat.<p>

Behind them, Dan said, "Let's lock and load."

"You watch _way _too many spy movies," Amy said, getting out of the car.

Dan scrambled out after her. "I actually got that from an army movie," he said. "The plot was epic. There was this one guy..."

Jonah tossed Amy their gear through the window. "I'm on comms," he said, "so just let me know if something goes wrong."

"We'll do that," Amy said, grabbing the gear. "Thanks, Jonah."

Jonah waved and drove down the street. He parked the car in a parking lot and pulled out a magazine.

When Amy and Dan reached the woods, Amy handed Dan his gear. "Put this on," she said.

Dan looked at what Amy had handed to him "What _is_ this?" he asked.

Amy sighed. "This," she said, pointing, "goes in your ear. This vest..." She moved her finger, "...goes over your shoulders. And this..." She pointed to the headset, "...goes over your head. Questions?"

"Yeah," Dan said, studying the dark green leather vest, "Does this come in another color?"

Amy groaned.

They put on the vest and headsets. "Jonah, do you copy?" Dan asked over the comms.

Jonah's voice crackled through. "I read you, man," he chuckled.

"Hey," Dan said, "aren't we supposed to have code names over comms?"

"If you say so," Jonah said.

Dan jumped up and down. "Sweet! Okay, I want to be Ninja Warrior. Amy, you can be Bookworm."

Amy looked rather pleased with this name.

"Unless you want Mrs. Kabra."

"I'm gonna kill you."

"No, 'I'm gonna kill you' is too long for a code name. I guess Bookworm will work." Dan ducked before his sister could whack him. "Jonah, you can be Hamlet."

"Off the chain."

"Okay," Dan said. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>Dan and Amy crept through the underbrush, keeping an eye out for watchmen or guard dogs. "Seriously, who keeps a forest in their backyard?"<p>

Amy studied the map in her hand. "I'll bet this whole area used to be forest until they developed on it. Now, let's see..." She looked around.

"But," Dan added, "not to sound like a tree-hater or anything, but why not cut down the whole forest and build another pool or something?"

Amy shrugged, still looking at the map. "Maybe they kept it for a reason."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Amy looked around. "The main house should be somewhere in that direction..."

Suddenly, a gunshot blasted through the morning silence. The Cahills dropped to their stomachs.

"What was that?" Amy hissed.

"I think it was a gunshot."

"Yeah, I figured out that much for myself. Where did it come from?"

Dan looked around. "I don't know," he admitted, "The forest is echo-y. It could've come from anywhere." He sat up slowly and dusted his hands off. "Well, at least we know why they kept the forest now," he said.

"Why?"

"Mr. Dhine must hunt. That's what the gunshots where, probably."

Amy sat up and looked around. The forest was still. "Let's hope that he's in another part of the forest, then," she said. The siblings stood up and continued on cautiously.

* * *

><p>They finally reached the edge of the woods. Dan peeked over the bushes at the main house. "Dang," he breathed. "It's huge."<p>

Amy peeked over the bushes.

It was more like a castle than a mansion. Stone turrets stood at either end, and a large brick archway went over the double wooden door out front.

Amy's eyes widened. "Down," she hissed, and the two of them hit the ground.

A guard walked by with a large German Shepard on a leash. The dog sniffed the air.

Dan and Amy held their breaths.

The guard and dog finally continued on. The Cahills didn't allow themselves to sigh in relief.

They crept along the perimeter of the yard, staying low in the bushes. Amy tripped over a root, and she fell to the ground. Dan helped her up and put a finger to his lips. Another guard walked past.

The siblings finally reached the point in the bushes where they were several meters away from the back of the house.

"Now what?" Dan whispered.

Jonah's voice came over the comms unit. "How're you two doing?"

Amy spoke into her microphone, "So far so good, Jonah."

"Hamlet," Dan whispered.

"Hamlet," Amy repeated, rolling her eyes.

Jonah signed off, and Amy studied the layout map. "According to the map, there should be a sewer grating somewhere around here..."

Dan and Amy looked around. Suddenly, a white van drove down the winding driveway that looped around the mansion, and stopped out back. The driver's door opened, and a woman with fluffy blond hair wearing a business suit got out. Holding a clipboard, the woman walked up to the back door—the servants' door, Amy assumed.

The woman knocked, and a young lady in a maid's uniform opened the door. Their voices carried across the yard to where Amy and Dan hid:

"Hello," the woman in the business suit said with a clipped accent. "I'm the party planner Mrs. Dhine hired. Has the food arrived yet?"

The maid turned. "I'm not sure, ma'am," she said. "Let me go find Mrs. Dhine. Won't you come in?"

The woman shook her head. "That's all right," she said, holding up her clipboard. "I'll wait out here."

The maid disappeared into the house. The blond woman leaned against the house, looked around subtly, and pressed a hand to one ear.

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke in Amy and Dan's ears. "Hey, kiddos. Where are you two?"

"Nellie?" Amy and Dan exclaimed.

The blond woman smiled. "Nice disguise, huh?"

"We're in the bushes, about ten yards in front of you," Amy said.

Nellie looked around. "Can you wave or something?"

"That kind of kills the point of being in hiding," Dan pointed out drily.

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman appeared at the servants' door. She was dressed in a dark red dress, and her hair was piled on top of her head. "Ms. Brown?" she asked.

Nellie turned around quickly and said, "Yes. Mrs. Dhine?"

The woman nodded and motioned for Nellie to enter. Nellie followed Mrs. Dhine inside.

Amy and Dan looked at each other. "Nellie's in enemy territory!" Amy whispered.

"Some people have all the luck," Dan muttered.

* * *

><p>They finally found the sewer grating. Dan and Amy strained for several minutes, trying to lift the heavy grate. They finally gave up, and sat on the ground, panting.<p>

"It's...too heavy," Amy gasped.

"Ham...Ham could lift it," Dan puffed for breath.

"Do you need your inhaler?"

"I'm fine," Dan said, finally catching his breath.

Amy nodded. "Let's go. We've seen enough." She held up the map, which was now covered in writing.

She tucked her pencil into her bag. "Come on."

The two siblings made their way back through the forest towards the road.

* * *

><p>Nellie followed Mrs. Dhine through several rooms, until they reached the ballroom. She kept herself from gasping in awe as Mrs. Dhine pushed open the heavy wooden doors.<p>

The room was enormous. It was nearly as big as a football field. Several men in suits were setting up tables and chairs over on one half of the room, while a stringed orchestra set up their equipment on the stage at the other end of the room.

Mrs. Dhine led Nellie to a table and sat down. She motioned for Nellie to sit next to her. "Now," she said. "How are things going?"

Nellie sat down and gave her a wide smile that she normally saved for professors who were unhappy with her test scores. "Everything's great!" she said.

Mrs. Dhine nodded approvingly.

"Has the food arrived yet?" Nellie asked.

Mrs. Dhine gave her an odd look. "No, I thought that they were coming later."

Nellie put a shocked look on her face. "No, no, no," she said. "They are supposed to be dropping off some food to store for tonight." She pressed a button in her pocket, which set her pager beeping. Pulling out the pager, she pretended to look at it, then said, "May I use your phone? I have a few important calls to make for tonight."

_Try to look as busy as you can, _Fiske had said. _Do that, and people won't try to tell you what to do._

"Of course!" Mrs. Dhine chirped. "Right this way!_" _She led Nellie out of the room.

* * *

><p>Amy and Dan broke out of the forest and dashed down the road. They pulled open the doors of the SUV and dove in. "Drive!" Dan yelled.<p>

Jonah jerked upright and turned on the car. He stepped on the gas, and they practically flew out of the parking lot.

When they were finally a few streets away from the Dhine residence, Jonah asked, "What the heck happened?"

Amy and Dan looked at each other. "We just wanted to make sure your reflexes were still in good shape," Dan said simply.

"I thought someone was after you guys!" Jonah exclaimed. "Thanks a lot!"

Dan patted him on the shoulder. "You did well, young Jonah-wan," he said with mock-seriousness.

Jonah chuckled, and they drove back to the apartment.

As they pulled into the driveway, Amy asked Jonah, "Did you know Nellie was there?"

Jonah looked surprised. "At the Dhine's place? Nellie was there?"

Amy nodded.

"No, I didn't know," he said. He opened the door. "But I'll bet you I know who does."

They all got out of the SUV and went inside.

* * *

><p><strong>And that, my friends, concludes chapter 15. I know, not that exciting. Hopefully, the mission tonight will have more action.<strong>

**Response to Reviews:**

**-The Girl of the Moon: Hey, yell at Natalie, not me!**

**Natalie: What?**

**Me: This person doesn't like the fact that you hate Queen.**

**Natalie: Oh, that peasant music? I'm surprised anyone likes it.**

**Me: But "We Are the Champions" is awesome!**

**Natalie: *eyeroll*Not when Daniel sings it.**

**-therockinCookie: I'm going to try to delay The Kiss for as possible, just to keep any Amian fans reading this in suspense. AND THAT INCLUDES ME! You didn't like the Medusa Plot character developments? Aw...that's sad. I loved them. Sinead was awesome. Ian was the same as always, especially when he meets you-know-who ((not Voldemort. Duh)). Hamilton and Jonah are hilarious together. I kind of miss the old Amy, though.**

**-CloverThyne: HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW THAT? I hope you have it by now.**

**-Jay Cahill: Good for you! And even better that you didn't get detention. Luckily for me, school hasn't started yet. Next week *sigh*.**

**-Hitsugaya X Karin Lover: I wasn't going to post the parody, because I didn't think it was that good...my friend scoffed at it, but it was about Amy and Ian in Korea, and she doesn't really care about that...maybe I'll post it sometime in the future.**

**To everyone who posted: I thank thee! ((I'm in a Middle Ages mood today...so sue me))**

**So, hopefully I'll be able to update a few more times before school starts for me on Tuesday. Of course, my other stories may not be updated as often because they still need to be written.**

**Also, I wanted to make a few things clear about this story and what is NOT going to happen. So, without further ado:**

**The Top 5 Things That Are NOT Going to Happen in This Story:**

**Dan: Number one.**

**Natalie: I am NOT going to like Daniel.**

**Dan: And I am NOT going to like Natalie. Well, not _like _like.**

**Natalie: _Like _like?**

**Dan: You know, like... *whispers in her ear*.**

**Natalie: EWWW! No!**

**Dan: Right.**

**Ian: Number two. I am NOT going to call Amy "love"–**

**Amy: Right.**

**Ian: –more than once.**

**Amy: YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CALL ME LOVE AT ALL!**

**Me: Don't worry, I'll restrain him.**

**Ian: *grumble***

**Reagan: Number three.**

**Hamilton: I am not going to get jealous of Ian and Amy.**

**Ian: *mumbles* You better not.**

**Amy: What are you two talking about?**

**Ian, Hamilton, and I: NOTHING!**

**Amy: ...okay. Number four. I am never going to wake up and unexpectedly find Ian right next to me.**

**Me: Um...**

**Amy: ...right?  
><strong>

**Me: Uh..._probably_...**

**Amy: KT...**

**Me: WE'LL SEE, OKAY? Number five!**

**Dan: Uh...what was number five again?**

**Ian: I thought Reagan had number five?**

**Reagan: No, Ham did.**

**Hamilton: Amy has number five!**

**Amy: Natalie told me _she _had number five!**

**Natalie: I was talking about my Chanel perfume, not your silly little list!**

**Me: *facepalm* Come on, guys! We need a fifth thing!**

**Dan: Why don't we ask them? *points to reviewers***

**Me: Dan, you're a genius!**

**Dan: SOMEONE NOTICES!**

**Me: Okay, reviewers, it's your turn! Tell us one thing that is SO CLICHE, you don't want it to show up in this story! Do you know what that means?**

**Everyone: REVIEW!  
><strong>

**Until the next chapter,**

**-KT  
><strong>


	16. Chapter 16

Reagan stood in the middle of the gym, red playground balls flying around her. Behind her, Troy Jackson yelled, "We've almost got all of them!"

Reagan rolled her eyes at his overconfidence, and grabbed a ball. She lobbed it over the half-court line, and two kids got hit—one from the direct hit, and one when the ball bounced off of the first person's side.

The whistle blew. Reagan's team had won.

"Yes! We won!"

Let's rephrase that. _Troy Jackson's _team had won.

Reagan walked out of the gym towards the locker rooms. She heard someone run up behind her, and she turned around.

Troy reached her and grinned. "Hey," he said, "we played good today, huh?"

Reagan forced a smile and said, "Yeah, we did." She refrained from mentioning that all he had done was stand behind the rest of his team and tell them what to do.

Troy leaned against the wall. "You're a pretty good player," he said. "Almost as good as me."

Reagan tapped her foot impatiently, knowing the bell would ring soon. She raised an eyebrow.

Troy mistook her expression for disbelief. "I'm serious! I don't say this often, but you're a pretty good athlete."

Reagan sighed. "Thanks. Was there something you wanted...?" She started edging towards the end of the hallway.

Troy stood up straight. "How would you like to hang out with me later?" he asked, giving her a "charming" grin like he knew she couldn't possibly refuse.

"Ah, no. Sorry. I have to get home." Reagan turned.

Troy grabbed her arm. "It's that Cahill kid, isn't it?" he asked.

Reagan whirled around. "What are you talking about? Maybe I just don't like hanging around with big-headed jerks!"

Troy didn't seem to hear her. "You do know he transferred out, don't you?" he asked. "I heard that he moved to Canada."

Reagan rolled her eyes at the absurd rumor.

"So come on, what do you say?" Troy grinned at her again.

Reagan yanked her arm from his grasp. "I say _no_."

She started walking away. Troy yelled after her.

"You know, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! I'm not going to be a free agent for long!" When he still didn't get any response, he yelled, "You'll be sorry, you little nerd-lover!"

That did it.

Reagan turned and walked quickly back to Troy. She smiled sweetly, then punched him in the face.

Hard.

Troy fell to the ground, clutching his nose. Reagan looked down at him. "You insult me or any of my friends again, and you'll get a lot more from where that came from. Got it?"

Troy just moaned.

Reagan blew a lock of hair from her face and stormed away.

* * *

><p>Dan got the peanut butter out of the fridge, unscrewed the lid, dipped in the knife, and spread a big glob of it onto the bread. Behind him at the kitchen table, Mr. McIntyre and Amy were talking.<p>

"We were able to convince the party planner Mrs. Dhine had previously hired to take a—shall we say—vacation. After that, it was easy enough to have Nellie impersonate her. Mrs. Dhine isn't very suspicious—that's Mr. Dhine. We believe that he is the Vesper, not his wife."

"So what is Nellie trying to do?" Amy asked, taking a bite out of an apple.

Mr. McIntyre folded his hands on the table. "She has no specific mission at this point. We're just hoping that she can obtain some valuable information, possibly another reason for this party tonight."

Dan took his sandwich to the table and sat down next to Amy. "You mean, it could be a cover up for some sort of Vespers meeting?"

"Precisely," Mr. McIntyre said. "Although I'm sure not all of the guests will be Vespers. At one point in the party, I'm assuming certain guests and Mr. Dhine will depart from the festivities in some way, and hold a meeting in private. Hopefully, Nellie will be able to find out something, anything, about why this party is being thrown."

Dan took a bite of his sandwich. "I thought fancy, rich people had dinner parties whenever they felt like it," he said.

"Not Vespers," Mr. McIntyre said grimly (Amy noticed that he often spoke grimly when speaking about Vespers). "They're too much like Cahills—they never do anything without a reason."

* * *

><p><strong>Grr, I wish I could make it longer, but the next chapter is the beginning of the mission and I want that to be a separate chapter.<strong>

**YAY! New chapter! Earlier this afternoon, I had to go into Word to type something up for homework, and it took all of my willpower not to open the document with the story and update the next chapter before I finished my homework. But now I did, and here it is!**

**So little random moment in the beginning of the chapter. More will happen on the Troy Jackson topic ((could you imagine anyone with the last name Jackson ever being like Troy? GO PERCY!))**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-goddess of lakes: No kissing in the rain. Got it. I'll go tell Zeus to hold back the showers whenever The Kiss finally happens.**

**-CloverThyne: No fluffy, mushy love scenes. Got it. I HOPE YOU HAVE THE MEDUSA PLOT BY NOW!**

**-The Girl of the Moon:**  
><strong>Dan: Yeah! My singing ROCKS!<strong>  
><strong>Natalie: Fine. You two peasants can go listen to your silly music somewhere else.<strong>  
><strong>Me: Natalie?<strong>  
><strong>Natalie: Yes?<strong>  
><strong>Me: Go away.<strong>

**-I'mDifferent-GetOverIt: Already kind of happened...sorry...**

**-therockinCookie: *runs to fix that* Thank you! I hate the fact that Evan is so nice, because I can't hate him. I hope he turns out to be a Vesper. Then I can happily hate him.**

**-Skyclaw: I did have a suggestion to change it, way in the beginning, mostly because the complaint was that there were already a few "Return of the Cahills". But I searched the name, and mine is the only one. Plus, it'd be a bit confusing to change it now. Besides, what's wrong with a little muchiness after awhile? XD**

**-TribalGirl: EVERYONE? IS THERE AN AWARD FOR LONGEST AND CRAZIEST REVIEW EVER? BECAUSE I THINK TRIBALGIRL AND HER SISTER JUST WON IT.**  
><strong>No CPR. Got it.<strong>

**-MelRose520: A bit cliche, perhaps. Sorry about that. And WISH GRANTED!**

**I think I replied to everyone who reviewed last chapter ((although I didn't respond to all reviews *cough*TribalGirl*cough* XD))**

**Just a quick update for those of you following my other stories: I'm nearly done with the next chapter of "Cahills Reading Fanfiction". When I finish that, I'll start working on "Six Years Before". And I just got an idea for a new story...but I'm going to save that until I finish CRF or SYB.**

**Anyway, hope everyone who's started school is doing well! I got lost about five billion times because the architects of my school thought that it would be funny to turn the second floor into a labyrinth.**

**Until Next Chapter,**

**-KT**

**P.S I just wanted to say again how sorry I am that this chapter is so short. I just looked back at it and winced at it's shortness. NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE LONGER! I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX!**

**P.P.S Fun Fact of the Day: Did you know that if I hadn't merged some of the chapter in this story, this would be chapter 26? Weird, right? Okay, now I'm seriously done with this note. Bye!**


	17. Chapter 17

"I can't believe you made me wear a suit," Hamilton mumbled as Amy dusted off his sleeves. He was wearing a dark blue suit, and they had dyed his hair a dark red.

"Oh, come on," Amy said, looking him up and down. "It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say. You look hot. I look ridiculous."

Amy rolled her eyes and turned to the mirror. She was wearing a light blue, floor-length dress with spaghetti straps an a tight waist Natalie had picked out a brown wig for her, and it fell in waves down her back. On her feet she wore strappy blue high heels.

"At least you don't have to wear heels," she muttered, tugging at the straps on her dress. "I feel like I'm going to fall on my face the minute I try to walk."

Jonah walked into the room wearing a tux. His short, curly black hair was dyed a lighter brown, and his facial features had been adjusted with some of the latex makeup, like Amy and Hamilton's.

"Spin," Amy instructed. Jonah obligingly rotated.

Hamilton gave him a thumbs-up. "You look good," he said.

Jonah grinned, then turned to look down the hall. "Here comes Sinead," he said.

Sinead walked in, looking as uncomfortable in her high heels as Amy. She was wearing a long yellow dress with a scoop neck, and the red wig that Amy had worn the night before.

She looked at them. "I love everything but the heels," she said, sitting down on the couch and putting up her feet. "I'm going to have blisters by the end of the night."

Ian entered, and Amy's heart fluttered a little. His dark hair was dyed a lighter brown, and he looked great in his black tuxedo.

Ian grinned. "I haven't dressed like this for three years," he said.

Hamilton tugged at his tie. "At least you're used to it," he muttered. "I this tie is strangling me."

Sinead laughed and helped him loosen his tie a little.

Fiske walked into the den. "My word," he breathed. "You all look fantastic."

The five kids grinned.

Fiske shook his head. "It feels like just yesterday you were all young teenagers. And look at you all now. You've grown up."

Amy walked over and put her arm around him. "It's okay, Uncle Fiske," she said softly. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Sooner for some people," Jonah joked, elbowing Hamilton, who towered over the rest of them.

Fiske smiled. "I have the cars waiting outside," he said. "Sinead, you're in the Toyota with Ned driving, Hamilton, you're driving the Hummer..."

"Yes!"

"...Ian, you're driving the Mazda, Jonah's driving the Chrysler, and I'm driving the limo with Amy."

"Lucky," Sinead grumbled good-naturedly. "You get the limo. I get the Toyota."

Amy grinned. "It's better than walking," she pointed out. "Especially in our shoes."

"True. Very true."

"Let's go," Fiske said, motioning them out the door. Ned joined them, and the old Madrigal and six teenagers left.

* * *

><p>Ted pulled the car over to the end of the street, where Jonah had parked earlier that day. "Okay, we're here," he said.<p>

"Thanks, man," Dan said, opening the passenger-side door. Natalie, Madison, and Reagan climbed out of the back.

The four kids stood on the sidewalk. Ted leaned out the window. "You've got all of your equipment?"

Madison held up the vests, goggles, headsets, and the other various pieces of the equipment.

"Cell phones?" Ted asked.

The four of them held up their cell phones.

"And did you remember..."

"Ted!" Reagan exclaimed. "We're all set!"

"Okay, okay," he said, turning on the engine. "Good luck out there."

He put his foot on the gas and drove away into the darkness.

Natalie shivered. "It's cold," she said, wrapping her arms around herself.

Madison elbowed her. "Aw, toughen up," she said, heading for the woods.

Reagan immediately felt ashamed. She had been feeling a little cold, too. Was she softening up? There was a time when she had believed that Holts were immune to the worst pain, the bitterest cold, the most sweltering heat. Now she was doubting everything she used to believe.

Natalie and Madison had already disappeared into the woods, and Dan turned to look at Reagan. "You coming?" he asked, holding out her gear.

Reagan stared at the gear for a moment, then grinned. She took it from him. "Yeah, I'm coming," she said. Dan grinned back, and the two of them followed Madison and Natalie.

* * *

><p>Amy sat in the back of the limo, absently fingering the many buttons on the panel next to her.<p>

Fiske was driving the limo, dressed in a chauffeur uniform. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked his great-niece from the front seat.

Amy smiled at him through the rear-view mirror. "Nervous, but ready," she said.

Fiske turned down the street the Dhine residence was located on. "Just remember, try to keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior."

"Besides the Cahills, of course."

"Of course," Fiske agreed with a laugh. He turned the car down the long driveway looping in front of the Dhine mansion.

Amy looked up through the tinted windows at the towering building, and was awed at how much more magnificent and huge it looked lit by the dim moonlight in comparison to the bright daylight.

Fiske pulled the car up in front of the mansion. "Good luck, kiddo," he whispered. Amy smiled at her great-uncle, then anxiously checked to make sure her microphone and earpiece were securely in place. They were.

A white-gloved man opened the back door of the limo and helped Amy out of the car. Amy smiled thanks to him, and watched Fiske drive away. She turned, and started up the stone steps to the front doors.

* * *

><p>One by one, the four other Cahills arrived at the party. Soon after Amy entered the mansion, Jonah pulled up in his silver Chrysler. He tossed the keys to the valet and strode up the steps.<p>

A minute after, a black Toyota arrived. Sinead emerged from the back seat, and Ned drove away. Sinead climbed the steps to the doors.

Several minutes later, Ian drove up the driveway in the Mazda. He handed the keys to the valet and made his way up the steps to the front doors.

Finally, Hamilton roared down the driveway in the black Hummer. He parked in front of the house and tucked the keys into his pocket.

"Um, sir?" the valet asked. "Your keys?"

Hamilton looked down at the valet. "Yeah? What about them?"

The valet frowned. "Would you like to give them to me?"

Hamilton chuckled. "Oh, I see," he said. "You want to take the Hummer for a spin. Okay, man, there you go." He gave the valet his keys, and the small man almost fainted in relief.

Hamilton jogged up the steps and entered the mansion.

* * *

><p>The orchestra was playing some waltz—something by Mozart, Amy assumed. She knew Jonah would approve.<p>

She was standing with two middle-aged women who introduced themselves as Patti and Noreen. Patti was the wife of a big-time lawyer and mother of five, and Noreen was a secretary for the CEO of some big company.

Amy introduced herself as Rebecca Forringer, twenty-three-year-old daughter of Franklin Forringer, "...the well-known senator, you've probably heard of him."

Or course, the two women had never heard of Franklin Forringer, for he was someone that Dan had made up just a few hours earlier. But they smiled and said, "Oh, yes, of course. A great man, your father."

After a little while of sitting through their prattling on about husbands, kids, and jobs, Amy politely excused herself and walked over to the refreshments table. She poured herself a glass of water (she was relieved that they had plain water, and not just wine and champagne) and stood, surveying the crowd. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Hamilton smiled politely as a young woman asked him his name. "Robert Neely," he said, holding out his hand. She shook his hand, and he observed that she left her hand in his a little longer than necessary. <em>Hm...<em>

"I'm Sara Mason," she said, smiling at him. "My father is the caterer for the party, but the Dhines have been a family friend for...many years."

Hamilton raised an eyebrow casually, but in his head wondered if she meant the Dhines were a family friend...or the Vespers. Could she be a Vesper?

Before Hamilton could say anything more, there was a screech of feedback. He and Sara turned to the stage, were Mrs. Dhine was holding a microphone. "Please find a seat," she said. "We will be having appetizers soon."

Sara smiled at Hamilton. "Come on, sit by me." She took his arm. Hamilton gave him a weak smile and let her lead him to a table.

* * *

><p>Amy turned around. A young man of about twenty-one or so was standing behind her, smiling. "Hello," he said.<p>

Amy gave him a courteous smile. "Hello," she said back.

The young man moved to stand next to her. "I couldn't help but see you standing here alone..."

_I bet you could_, Amy thought.

"...and wondered if you wanted some company."

Amy smiled—he seemed nice enough. "I'm sure you have better things to do than stand around with me," she said.

The young man shook his head. "Not really—this party's a drag. I'm David Dhine."

Amy started in surprise, and David continued, "My parents throw parties like this every month or so, and they always make me attend." He grinned, then whispered dramatically, "They're paying for my college tuition, so I have to do as they say."

Amy laughed.

"So who are you?" David asked.

"Rebecca Forringer. My father's Senator Forringer."

David nodded politely, obviously not knowing who that was. "Do your parents throw a lot of dinner parties too?"

Amy thought about how Nellie sometimes invited a college friend or two over for dinner, and afterwards they would hang out in Nellie's room and listen to music.

"Sometimes," Amy said. "But they're not as big as this."

David winced. "Scary, right? I don't know how we don't go broke."

Amy did—Vesper money.

Just then, Mrs. Dhine announced that dinner would be served soon. "Do you want to sit together?" David asked.

Amy smiled. "Sure," she said. They walked across the room to sit at a table.

At the table, David pulled out a chair for Amy, and she sat. He took the seat next to her.

Around them, people were taking seats, chatting as they walked. Amy spotted Hamilton talking to a young woman across the room, Jonah having what seemed like an argument with a couple of men, and Sinead talking to another young woman.

Someone pulled out the chair across from Amy, and she looked up. Ian sat down.

"Hello," David said in a friendly manner. "What's your name?"

Ian reached across the table and shook David's hand. "James Barrett," he said, laying on his British accent especially thick.

"David Dhine," David said. "And this is Rebecca Forringer."

Ian grinned at them. "Oh, are you two engaged?"

Amy kicked him under the table, and he winced. David didn't seem to mind, though. "No, no," he laughed, "we just met several minutes ago."

Ian nodded. "Pleased to meet you," he said to Amy.

"Likewise," Amy said, shaking his hand.

Ian gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go, and gave a meaningful look towards David. Amy rolled her eyes at him. David didn't seem to notice this exchange, and eagerly said, "I can't wait to eat. I'm starved."

Amy smiled. "Yeah, I'm hungry too. Do you know what we're eating?"

Before David could reply, a man in a chef's hat appeared at the doors to the hall. "Dinner eez served," he said with a French accent. He stepped aside, and several waiters entered, pushing carts covered with covered platters.

One waiter steered his cart to Amy's table. He stopped next to Ian and said, "The first course is roasted duck with an apple gravy." He lifted the cover, and steam erupted from the plate.

The waiter served everyone at the table, then rolled the cart away.

Amy looked down at the meat on her plate, immediately wishing for that peanut butter sandwich Dan had made earlier. She looked over at David, who was digging heartily into his portion, then across the table at Ian, who was eating it more delicately than David.

Amy shrugged mentally and took a bite. _Huh. Not bad_, she thought. It was more like something Nellie would choose to eat...

Nellie! She suddenly remembered the party planner disguise, and looked around. She immediately spotted the bouncy blond hair through the crowd of people.

Nellie was talking to Mrs. Dhine, waving around her clipboard and talking at what looked like a mile a minute.

David was quickly done with his...duck. He wiped his mouth and looked at Amy. "Are you gonna eat that?" he asked her. She shook her head and pushed her plate towards him.

"I ate before I came," she explained. David nodded, and scraped her dinner onto his plate.

Ian stood up. "I'm going to walk around for awhile," he said. "I'll see you two later." He walked across the hall with several other people who had finished their dinner and wanted to walk the grounds.

The music started again as David finished his second portion. "Hey, do you want to dance?" he asked Amy.

"Sure."

They stood up and made their way to the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Jonah was finishing his dinner when her heard Ian's voice in his ear. "Hamlet, meet me out back," he said.<p>

Dan had told everyone about the code names, and they all, some more enthusiastic than others, chose names for themselves.

"Gotcha, Cobra."

Ian muttered something intelligible, probably about his code name, which Dan had the pleasure of picking out for him.

Jonah excused himself from the table, and headed out the doors.

He maneuvered his way down the winding hallways until he found himself standing on a lit patio the size of a dance floor. Several guests milled around, talking in groups.

Beyond the patio stood a row of evergreens, and Jonah remembered from the map of the grounds that there was a maze planted behind the house. A few people were walking through, enticed at the opportunity of adventure.

_You think that's adventure?_ Jonah thought. _You ain't seen nothing compared to where I've been._

He looked around for a moment, and then said quietly into his mic, "Where are you?"

Ian's voice spoke in his ear. "Go into the maze," he said. "Two lefts and a right."

"I hear you."

Jonah entered the maze, looking up warily at the towering evergreens that looked like tall, black shadows in the falling darkness.

Jonah found the first left, then the second, then turned right. He almost ran into Ian.

"Ah!" he jumped back, and Ian suppressed a smile.

"Dude! You scared the heck outta me!" Jonah exclaimed.

Ian put a finger to his lips, and Jonah fell silent. They heard a laugh nearby, and two people talking. Their voices faded away ad they continued through the maze.

Jonah finally spoke. "What's up?" he asked.

"I have a feeling," Ian said, "that if something is going to happen, it's going to happen in here, and soon."

Jonah checked his watch—7:55 glowed a florescent green. "It makes sense, I guess," he said. "But what are we going to do about it? The maze is huge! And I haven't even seen Mr. Dhine once tonight."

"Check your pockets," was all Ian said.

Jonah stuck his hands in his pocket, and pulled out s small device. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "It's my old heat-seeker!"

"With a few adjustments," Ian said. "Compliments of Ted Starling. Turn it on."

Jonah pressed a button, and the screen lit up. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "It shows the whole property!" The area where the main hall was displayed a hundred or so heat signatures bunched together. Outside of the mansion, a few heat signatures moved around the patio area, and even fewer moved through the maze. Jonah found the two dots that represented him and Ian. He also saw four dots bunched together at the edge of the woods.

"Those are the kids," he said, pointing at the cluster. "But what..." He squinted at the screen. A dot was moving towards the foursome.

Ian looked over Jonah's shoulder at the readout. "Maybe it's a squirrel?" he suggested weakly.

Jonah shook his head. "The sizes of the dots represent the size of the object generating heat. That's way too big to be a squirrel."

The two boys looked at each other. "This is not good," Jonah said.

* * *

><p><strong>You guys are so lucky<strong>. **I stopped about halfway through that, ready to end the chapter, and then I thought, _You know what? These people are such awesome reviewers, they deserve more than that. _So I added more. Whoop-de-do and all that.**

**Oh, P.S., Hamilton calling Amy hot in the beginning of this chapter is not a Hamy moment. He's just stating a fact.**

**Hamy lovers: AWWWWWWW!**

**Me: Deal with it.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-I'mDifferent-GetOverIt: Yaaay! I'm a daughter of Apollo!  
><strong>

**-TribalGirl: The review didn't bother me at all. I was cracking up. You and your sister remind me of my friends when they get sugar highs. But tell your sister to MAKE UP HER MIND! I don't think I'm going to do the CPR kiss. That'd just be weird.  
>EVERYONE: Tribal Girl's description of Reagan punching Troy Jackson in the last chapter: "'Hi, maybe I actually would like to - WHAM!'" I'm sorry, but that just made my day.<strong>

**-theRockinCookie: Or he could be both...heh heh heh. Oh, and I FOUND TWO MISTAKES AFTER YOU REVIEWED! YOU'RE SLIPPING! Jk, jk. And you like Evamy? –.–**

**-CloverThyne and bookgirl39: THANK YOU FOR BEING ON MY SIDE WITH THE WHOLE EVAN THING! But I still can't hate him. It's against my morals. But the second he does something even remotely suspicious or evil–BAM! I'm drawing a picture of him and taping it to my dart board!**

**Quick change of subject: Who saw the pic of Jake Rosenbloom? I know he's a jerk and all, but, whoa! He is HOT!**

**((Continuing Responses))**

**-The Girl of the Moon:**  
><strong>Me: Natalie's gone. You won the argument. Congrats.<strong>  
><strong>Dan from <em>Six Years Before<em>: Wanna cookie?**

**-PinkGoesWithEverything: I HOPE THIS IS LONGER ENOUGH! And I'm glad you like Deagan now, too! Oh, and it's cool how you think this is a lot like The Medusa Plot. Um, how? XD**

**-MelRose520: WISH GRANTED!**

**Thanks everyone who reviewed!**

**So today I almost had a heart attack when I was looking through the list of club faculty at my school, and discovered that there's backstage choreographer for our school drama group ((which I plan to join, BTW)), and her last name is Cahill. I ran to my friend Divya and screamed, "DIVYA! THE BACKSTAGE CHOREOGRAPHER IS A CAHILL!" and she was like, "O_O"**

**So quick question. Well, more like a poll. I'm pretty sure which will win, but I just want to know: Which do you like more, Sinilton or Jonead? Just for future reference.**

**Anyway, I think that's all. I'll try to update at least once more this weekend.**

**Me: Say it with me, Jonah!**

**Me and Jonah: Peace out, dawgs!**

**-KT**


	18. Chapter 18

Dan didn't know staking out a mansion could be so boring.

He was sitting on the ground, repeatedly tying and untying a piece of rope that he had found in his bag. Natalie was leaning against a tree, checking her manicure, Reagan was pacing behind Dan, and Madison was using her night vision goggles to tell everyone what they were doing in the pitch blackness.

"Now Dan is tying the rope again...Natalie is checking her left hand nails...Reagan is glaring at me...oh. Sorry. I'll shut up now." Madison sighed and took off the goggles. Laughter sounded from the mansion, and Natalie sighed too. "What are we even supposed to be doing?" she asked.

Reagan shrugged in the darkness. "Beats me," she said.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get the feeling that McIntyre just put us here so we wouldn't feel left out," Dan grumbled.

"Gee, I wonder why he'd think that?" Madison said sarcastically. "Personally, I'd rather be at home in the heat than out here in the cold."

"I thought Holts didn't feel cold," Natalie countered.

"They don't," Madison replied. "But the boredom is weakening me."

Suddenly, Jonah's voice rang in their ears. "Dudes," he said nervously, "my heat sensor tells me that there's something big coming your way."

Dan jumped up. "What direction?" he asked.

"Right behind you, if you're facing the mansion. At the pace it's going, it should be on you in about thirty seconds."

"Got it," Madison said. She stood and put on her night vision goggles.

The other three did the same, and the four of them hid behind a large tree. Reagan and Madison put up their fists, and Natalie pulled out what looked suspiciously like a dart gun.

Dan looked down at his empty, puny hands. "Peace and harmony my foot," he grumbled. "I don't have anything to fight with!"

"Get ready," Madison said, ignoring him. They watched from behind the tree, their goggles turning everything in the surrounding area a dull green.

Suddenly, a small man in a guard's uniform emerged from the trees. He looked around, and Dan saw that he had a permanent scowl etched onto his face.

Too late, the four kids realized that he had a flashlight, which he shone around him. The light stopped on them. "Hey!" the man exclaimed. "What are you..."

There was a low hiss, and the man crumpled to the ground. The twins and Dan turned to look at Natalie, who was pocketing the dart gun. She looked up and saw them staring. "What?" she asked.

Dan and Madison spoke at the same time.

"That was awesome!" Dan exclaimed.

"You could've let us beat him up first," Madison grumbled.

Reagan patted Natalie on the shoulder. "Nice job," she said.

Dan walked over to the guard and pulled back his jacket. An ID tag fell out, and he picked it up. "Frankie Harris," he read. He looked down at the unconscious body. "Hello, Frankie. You won't mind if I steal your identity for a while, would you?"

Madison gave a strangled yelp. "What? How come _you_ get to steal his identity?"

Dan grinned. "Do you see any female guards walking around?"

Madison crossed her arms and pouted.

Reagan put a hand on Dan's arm. "Dan, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Heck, yeah!" Dan said, pulling the jacket off Frankie Harris and putting it on.

"It'll be dangerous," Natalie said, standing on his other side.

"I laugh in the face of danger. Ha! Now turn around, I'm putting on his pants."

The girls obligingly turned around. "You'll probably get caught right away," Madison pointed out.

"Or I might not. Okay, I have the pants on."

They turned around again, and Dan strapped on the guard's belt and flashlight.

Natalie gave a mischievous grin. "They're serving duck for dinner."

Dan paused, looking up. "What?"

"They won't have any peanut butter," Reagan added.

Dan thought for a moment, then said, "I'm going in."

The four of them stood there, Dan waiting to see if they'd try to stop them; Reagan, Madison, and Natalie wondering if they should.

Madison spoke first. "Kick some Vesper butt in there," she said.

Natalie handed him her dart gun. "Here. You might need this."

Dan nodded solemnly and headed towards the mansion.

When he got to the edge of the trees, he heard a voice behind him call, "Dan!"

He turned, and Reagan ran up to him. She paused for a moment, then hugged him. "Be careful," she whispered.

Dan was surprised for a moment, then gave a confident grin. "I will," he said.

Reagan let go and put on a weak smile. Dan gave her a confident grin, and walked out of the woods.

* * *

><p>Amy had to admit, David was a much better dancer than Will. They danced for a whole half hour, with David continuously grabbing glasses of champagne off the trays of passing waiters.<p>

Finally, David asked Amy if she wanted to go outside. Relieved, Amy said yes.

They walked down the hall out onto the patio. Some people were milling around, talking. Amy saw the maze that she had seen on the area map she had studied that morning.

"Is that a maze?" she asked.

David grinned. "Yeah," he said. "You wanna see it?"

"Sure."

They walked across the grass to the entrance to the maze. David gestured for Amy to go in. "Ladies first," he said. Amy noticed his speech was a little slurred. _He must've drunk too much champagne_, she thought.

She walked through the giant evergreens growing on either side of the entrance. David followed her.

They took a few turns, then Amy said, "Um, do you know where we're going?"

"No," David said, "I'm just going with the flow..."

They turned another corner, and Amy stopped. "Let's go back," she said nervously.

"Okay," David said, turning around. They started retracing their steps.

They suddenly heard voices—several men's voices. "Wait," Amy said, stopping. She listened.

"Just a few more turns and we can stop," one man's voice said from not far away.

"That's my dad," David whispered loudly. "Let's go say hi to daddy."

Amy shushed him and kept listening.

"Pete, why all the secrecy?" asked another man's voice.

"There's been talk. Talk that there are some Cahills hanging around. I don't want to take any chances."

"Wuzza Cahill?" David asked Amy.

Amy shook her head at him. "Never mind, let's get out of here," she said. She started down the path to the entrance.

"Wait," David said, grabbing her arm. "I wanna kiss first."

Amy stared at him. "What? David, you're drunk. Let's get out of here."

"I want you to kiss me!" he said, louder. The men's voices stopped abruptly.

"David, shh! They'll hear you!" Amy tried to pull her arm away, but David pulled her towards him. She tried to hit him with her other hand, but her pinned her arms to her side.

"Kiss me," he said, moving in.

Suddenly, a fist shot out from the darkness and made contact with David's jaw. David fell to the ground, unconscious. His fall put Amy off-balance, and she fell too. She looked up.

Ian looked down at David. "If she says she doesn't want to kiss you, that means she doesn't want to kiss you. Got it?" He glared at David's limp form.

"Uh, Ian?" Amy said from the ground. "I don't think he can hear you."

Ian looked over at her and grinned. "Just trying to make a point, that's all."

He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"My hero," Amy said drily.

"You can thank me later," Ian said. "Right now, we have to get out of here before we're discovered. Come on."

He led her through the dark maze, turning corners and half running down paths until they turned a corner and found Jonah.

"Ham's coming," Jonah said, hearing them arrive. Her was pressing buttons on the device in his hand. "Sinead's staying inside for a little longer to try to find out anything from the guests." He looked up. "Oh, hey, Amy," he said. "Weird meeting you here."

"Small world we live in," Amy replied, looking over his shoulder at the readout in his hand. A big orange dot pulsed in the middle of the maze, and farther to its left was a cluster of three dots that Amy assumed to be them.

Hamilton's voice spoke in their ears. "Where are you guys? Or, more importantly, where am I?" The big orange dot made what looked like a 360 degrees turn.

"Make a right...now a left...then a right," Jonah directed. The orange dot moved as he spoke. It came across another smaller dot.

"Um, guys?" Hamilton said. "There's some guy lying in the middle of the path." Amy winced—David.

"Leave him," Ian said.

"But–"

"Just leave him," Ian interrupted firmly.

"Okay," Hamilton said, and the dot moved on towards their cluster.

"Another left," Jonah directed. "Now a right."

The dot was right next to their three dots. They looked up.

No Hamilton.

"What...?" Jonah asked, looking down at his readout.

"Boo!" a voice said behind them. Amy, Ian, and Jonah each jumped a foot in the air.

Hamilton fell over laughing. Jonah glared at his heat-sensing device, then flicked it with his finger. "Stupid machine doesn't show the direction we're facing," he muttered.

Hamilton finally stopped laughing. "I'm sorry," he gasped. "But you should've seen the looks on your faces!"

Amy rubbed her temples. "Jeez, Ham, like I need another heart attack tonight," she said. Ian just shook his head.

Jonah looked up from his readout. "Dudes, Mr. Dhine and his friends have stopped. Are we going after them or not?"

Suddenly, Sinead's excited voice rang in their ears. "Guys!" she exclaimed. "I found out that Mr. Dhine has a study on the third floor! If we can hack into the system, we can see if there's any emails that can tell us something."

Hamilton spoke into his microphone. "Can you go check it out?" he asked.

They heard someone call, "Josie?" in the background.

Sinead groaned. "These busybody girls at my table won't let me leave. I was lucky enough to get a few minutes away. If I'm gone for even ten minutes, they'll all go looking for me."

Amy spoke. "Okay, we'll go check it out."

"Over and out," Sinead said.

Amy looked up at the three boys. "What now?" she asked.

Jonah spoke first. "We split up," he said. "Ian and Amy go to the study, 'cuz Ian can hack into computers and Amy knows the house layout. Hamilton and I will check out Mr. Dhine and the others, 'cuz I have the heat-sensor and we might need Ham's strength in case we need to put up a fight."

The three other teenagers stared at him. "What?" he asked.

"Jonah," Amy said, "that makes a lot of sense."

"Yo, I can be logical when I need to be," Jonah said defensively.

"Okay, let's get going," Hamilton said.

They split up—Jonah and Hamilton headed towards the group of dots displayed on the screen, and Ian and Amy headed towards the entrance to the maze.

* * *

><p>Sinead smiled weakly as the young women dragged her back to their table and started prattling on about clothes, boyfriends, jobs, etc. Sinead was dying to get out of there, go back to the apartment, take off those uncomfortable high heels, slip on some fuzzy slippers, and listen to some educated conversation. This was just nonsense.<p>

She took a sip of water from her glass and gazed around the room. More people were dancing, and the orchestra was playing a lively dance.

Just then, she saw a blond woman approaching her. Sinead watched the woman walk towards her, and suddenly remembered that she was Nellie in disguise.

Nellie reached her. "Hello," she said to Sinead. "I'm Danielle Brown, the party planner. I'm taking a survey on how you like the party. Would you care to step out for a moment so I can ask you some questions?"

Sinead looked at the other girls. "I'll be right back," she said. The girls nodded, then went back to their debate about the best hairstyle to have on a rainy day.

Nellie and Sinead walked into the hall. "Thank you for saving me," Sinead said, leaning against the wall and sighing with relief. "If I had to sit through that a minute longer, I would've had to hurt someone."

Nellie grinned. "Don't mention it," she said, adjusting her wig. "I needed a break too. Mrs. Dhine is really obsessed with these parties. She wants every detail right, every minute planned." She sighed. "I'm surprised people are still coming to these things," she said. "Apparently she has them every month."

Nellie looked over at Sinead. "So where is everybody?" she asked. "I saw Ian leave, then Jonah, then Amy left with the Dhine's boy, and then Hamilton left a while later. Where's everyone going?"

Sinead quickly told her all she knew, which was basically that they had found the men in the maze and were most likely going to split up to hack into Mr. Dhine's computer and follow Mr. Dhine and the others.  
>Nellie whistled low. "Jeez, they really have their work cut out for them, don't they?" She straightened her wig again. "Well, I better go back in," she said. "Mrs. Dhine will want to go over the plan for the next half hour of the party."<p>

Sinead sighed. "Yeah, I better go back too, before my table mates start a search party for me." The two young women gave the other an encouraging smile, then they both re-entered the room.

* * *

><p>After making several wrong turns ("No, we need to go left." "Right, Ian." "Thank you." "No, we need to <em>go right<em>, not left!"), Amy and Ian finally emerged from the maze. They crossed the patio and entered the mansion.

Following the sound of chatter and orchestra music, the two Cahills crept down the hallways until they reached the doorway to the party hall. But instead of going in, they continued down the hall to a flight of stairs.

At the foot of the stairs, Amy paused. "No," she murmured, closing her eyes to concentrate.

Ian watched her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Amy slowly opened her eyes. "I don't think the study is on the second floor. Or, if it is, it isn't the study we're looking for. I remember seeing another room on the floor plan map..."

She stared at the stairs for a moment. The stairs climbed up between two flat walls. An ornate, ivory railing was attached to the wall, leading upwards. At the base of the railing was the small head of a roaring lion, carved out of ivory, no bigger than Amy's fist. Could it be...?

Amy climbed the first two steps and grasped the lion's head. She gave it a firm twist to the right.

A dull rumble emerged from under her. The stairs started to move.

"Amy, get back!" Ian grabbed Amy by the arms and pulled her back down the stairs.

_Whoa, deja-vu_, Amy thought.

They watched as the stairs all sunk down to an even level, creating a pathway into the entrance that had been revealed.

The rumbling finally stopped. Amy realized that Ian was still holding her.

"Um, thanks," she said, pulling herself away.

Ian grinned sheepishly. "No problem."

Amy pulled out the small flashlight she had kept in her purse and shined it into the dark entrance. The beam of her flashlight met with a wall. "What...?" Amy muttered, stepping in. Ian was close behind her.

They walked forward until they met with the wall. Amy shined the flashlight around, and revealed that the passage made a sharp turn to the left. Amy started to turn.

"Wait," Ian said. "Don't you think we should close the entrance first?"

He walked back to the stairs. "Shine your flashlight over here," he said, indicating the area of wall by the entrance to the tunnel.

Amy pointed her flashlight towards the wall, and, sure enough, there was another lion's head. Ian grabbed it and twisted firmly. The stairs rumbled back into place, and the only light in the tunnel came from Amy's flashlight.

Ian made his way through the dark towards the dim light. "Lead the way," he said.

* * *

><p>Jonah and Hamilton were stumped.<p>

They looked up at the tall evergreen wall that blocked their path. According to the heat-sensor, Mr. Dhine and associates should have been right down the path ahead of them. Unfortunately, there was no path ahead of them.

Jonah fiddled with the buttons on the device, then shook his head. "It's no use, man," he said. "There must be something wrong here, and I'll bet you $5 that it's with the heat-sensor."

Now, Hamilton was never one to turn down a bet. So he said, "You're on," and started studying the wall of trees in front of him.

He first considered just barreling straight through, but he knew the noise of trees snapping in two would probably alert the enemy of their presence.

His second idea was to throw Jonah over the trees, but as he studied the height of the evergreens, he realized that the fall would probably not be good for Jonah.

Then he noticed something strange. Close to the bottom of he trees, the air shimmered a little, like the pavement does on a really hot day. Could it be...?

Hamilton reached out to touch the trees. His big, meaty fist went right through.

Jonah gaped at his hand. "What...how...huh?"

Hamilton grinned. "I'll collect my $5 later," he said, and then he stepped through the trees.

Jonah followed right behind him, then turned to admire the trees. "A hologram," he said. "And a sweet one too. It really got me."

"It got me too," Hamilton admitted. "But then I saw the bottom was shimmering, sort of, and figured that regular trees don't shimmer like that."

Jonah patted him on the arm. "Brilliant observation," he said.

The two boys heard voices coming from the end of the path. They crept towards them, until they came to a corner. They slowly peeked around.

* * *

><p>Ian and Amy crept down the passageway, the dim flashlight lighting their path.<p>

After walking for a minute or two, they reached a large, wooden door. Ian tried the knob. "Locked," he announced.

Amy shined her flashlight up. A control panel was revealed right in the center of the door.

Ian studied the panel. "Biometric security," he said. "It's a thumbprints reader."

Amy groaned. "Great," she muttered. "What now?"

She cast the light onto Ian's face, and he grinned. "Watch and learn."

He stepped up to the control panel and breathed on he scanner. There was a beep, then a whir, and the door unlocked.

"Whoa," Amy said, staring at the door. "How did you do that?"

"Simple Lucian logic," Ian said. "And a whole lot of chemistry facts. The oils of the last thumbprint are brought up by he heat of the breath, activating the scanner." He shook his head. "I'm a little disappointed in Dhine. I expected more of a challenge."

"Be happy it's been this easy so far," Amy said, pushing open the door.

The two Cahills stepped inside. It was a normal-looking office, with a rug and a desk and a chair. Paintings hung on the walls, and a huge computer sat atop the desk.

Ian immediately went to the computer and got to work. Amy started wandering around the room, looking at the pictures on the wall. She stopped by a painting of a girl standing in a meadow. "This painting is beautiful," she murmured, gazing at the artist's intricate brush strokes.

Ian glanced up from his typing and watched her gaze at the picture. It still amazed him how she admired the most trivial things. He liked that about her.

Amy suddenly turned around and caught his gaze. "Did you get in?" she asked.

Ian jerked his head back around. "Um, almost," he said, typing furiously.

Finally, the computer beeped. "I'm in," he said. Amy rushed over and looked over his shoulder. Ian clicked open the email, and another password check popped up.

"Now I know we're onto something," Amy murmured as Ian started typing again. "Who has so many password checks and locks unless they're hiding something big?"

The screen lit up green. "Here we are," Ian said, opening the inbox. He scrolled down the page. "Nothing really stands out..." he muttered.

Amy pointed to the screen. "Click on that one," she said. Ian did as she said, and the message popped up:

VI:  
>LUUZHGRR MGSK YGZ.<br>ATJKX HRKGINKXY.  
>KOMNZ.<p>

Ian sat back and looked at Amy. "It's in code," he said. "It's all yours."

Amy smiled and stared at the glowing screen for a moment. "It looks so familiar," she murmured. "The start...VI...V..."

She suddenly gasped. "Bahamas!" she exclaimed.

Ian gave her a strange look. "Is this another one of your strange American exclamations?"

Amy looked at him. "No," she said. "In the Bahamas, Dan and I got a coded message. The first line started with a V...the Roman Numeral five!" She pointed at the screen. "VI, that's six. So take every number..."

"...and count six letters after! Amy, you're brilliant!" Ian pulled a piece of paper and pencil out of his pocket and started decoding the message. After a minute, her was done:

FOOTBALL GAME SAT.  
>UNDER BLEACHERS.<br>EIGHT.

"Thank you, Mr. Dhine," Amy said.

* * *

><p><strong>*wails* I'm sorry for the cliche-ness! I know there's a lot of it in this chapter! SORRY!<strong>

**Anyway.**

**Yay! Another chapter (I think I've been saying that for every chapter XP)**

**Response to Reviews:  
><strong>

**-CloverThyne: Target and arrows...so much better than dartboard.  
><strong>

**-PinkGoesWithEverything: WISH GRANTED!  
><strong>

**-I'mDifferent-GetOverIt: Zia+Carter=Awesomness. Sadie+Anubis=More awesomeness. No offense to Walt, even though, he's actually, like, human.**

**-theRockinCookie: Actually, I wrote unintelligible. But that's okay! You're, like, my unofficial beta**, **since hardly anyone else CCs.  
><strong>

**-petitepurpleprincess: Yeah, I think this is kind of turning into Deagan. I'm trying not to make it too much, but yeah.**

**-The Girl of the Moon:**

**Dan: Here. *hands The Girl of the Moon a cookie without a bug in it***

**-TheNinjaNerd: I know! He's just too nice.**

**-favmovie: Congrats for being my first anonymous reviewer. YES, PEOPLE! I AM NOW ALLOWING ANONYMOUS REVIEWS! XD**

**Thank you, reviewers, one and all!**

**So I just put a lot of A Very Potter Musical songs on my iPod (and they're TOTALLY AWESOME!), and I was listening to "No Way" while posting this, and I started imagining the Cahills singing it. Like, Dan as Harry, Amy as Draco, the Kabras or the Holts as Ron and Hermione...idk. But it was really cool. They need to make a 39 Clues Musical!**

**Oh, yeah. I need to give some credit to some of the lines/ideas in this chapter:**

**"I laugh in the face of danger. Ha!" Yeah, pretty obvious. Stole that from the Lion King. Simba and Dan are both awesome.  
><strong>

**Ian breathing on the thumbprint scanner is from _Get Smart_, one of my favorite movies ever.**

**Then there's Ian saving Amy from getting crushed by the wall when she opens the secret passageway, like in Book 3, and the code from Book 9.**

**And finally I know there's some cliche, like Ian punching a guy trying to kiss Amy. I know. I'm sorry. I wrote this a while ago, before I started reading FF and seeing how many people have done that, and now I don't feel like changing that.**

**Also, let's have a moment of silence for 9/11. A lot of people lost their lives today, and I think we should honor those heroes who died in the tragedy ten years ago.**

***silence***

**Thanks, everyone.**

** Until Chapter 19,**

**-KT**


	19. Chapter 19

**Me: Time for another disclaimer! Okay, let's bring out...**

**Ian: *Jumps in his limo and drives away***

**Me: ...aaaaand never mind. Hmm...okay. JONAH!**

**Jonah: 'sup?**

**Me: You wanna rap the disclaimer for me?**

**Jonah: Sure.**

**I'm telling you all, now here's the news,**  
><strong>KT Rose doesn't own the Clues,<strong>  
><strong>She don't own Amy or Nat or Ted,<strong>  
><strong>She don't own Dan or Ian or Ned,<strong>  
><strong>She don't own Sinead or Reagan, too,<strong>  
><strong>She don't own me (and she don't own you),<strong>  
><strong>She don't own Ham or Madison,<strong>  
><strong>Or anything else, so now I'm done!<strong>

**Me: Sweet.**

* * *

><p>From what Jonah could see, there were only five men in the small clearing in front of them. The men stood, huddled, around one flashlight. Jonah spotted dark objects strapped to their belts that looked suspiciously like guns.<p>

Mr. Dhine, who was holding the flashlight, was speaking. "...and that's why I called you all here. We've been preparing for this for decades. Now that Cahill activity has been detected in the area, we must hunt them down or be hunted ourselves."

Another man spoke up, "How do you know, Pete?"

Mr. Dhine scowled. "Four of our children disappeared yesterday. Turner's girl, the Sorrel boy, the Barkers' girl, and the Gondolas boy. They went to some school dance last night and didn't return home. And..."

He stopped and pulled some papers out of his inner jacket pocket, "We've had these two under surveillance. They've got the last name Cahill, so we decided to keep an eye on them."

Jonah and Hamilton caught a glimpse of pictures of Amy and Dan—shots of them walking to and from school, of Amy standing outside the public library, of Dan at the trading cards store.

"Unfortunately," Mr. Dhine continued, "they dropped out of school before we could have someone tail them to see where they live. But we plan to obtain that information in a few days."

Jonah and Hamilton looked at each other with wide eyes. This was not good.

Another man spoke up. "What about our friend?"

Mr. Dhine smiled, and the flashlight cast eerie glows on his face. "I plan to meet him tomorrow. I won't tell you where, least there be a traitor among us."

The other men grumbled quietly. Mr. Dhine shifted the flashlight to his other hand, causing the flashlight beam to swing around wildly. Jonah and Hamilton jumped back to get out of the light, but they misjudged their jump and fell into the trees.

There was a loud crackling of tree branches, then silence.

"Did you hear that?" one man asked.

Hamilton and Jonah held their breaths.

"Go check it out," came Mr. Dhine's voice.

Hamilton and Jonah glanced around wildly, but they were at a dead end. They were caught.

A flashlight beam shined in their faces. "Well look at that!" one man exclaimed. "We caught some spies."

Jonah winced in the bright light. Then he flashed the man his patented Jonah Wizard smile. "Spies? What're you taking about? We were just exploring the maze when I tripped over my friend's foot." He smiled again.

"Search them," came Mr. Dhine's voice from the darkness. The man went up to the two boys and glanced warily up at Hamilton, who towered over him. Hamilton smiled agreeably and spread his arms apart, waiting to be searched.

The man felt around in their pockets and pulled out their wallets. He read aloud, "Robert Neely and Joseph Miller."

The man looked up. "Nothing suspicious, Pete."

Mr. Dhine's voice growled from the darkness. "Get rid of them," he said. "Take them into the forest and shoot them."

Jonah gulped, and Hamilton took a menacing step forward. He found a gun pointing at his heart. "Nothing funny," the man said, motioning with his gun. "Start walking."

"And don't come back until the job is done," Mr. Dhine called.

The man paused. "You won't plan anything without me, will you?" he asked, still facing the Cahill boys.

"You won't plane anything without me, will you?" Mr. Dhine mimicked in a falsetto tone. "Just get on with it, imbecile!"

The man muttered something under his breath and prodded Jonah with the gun. "Walk," he ordered.

They walked through the maze for a few minutes, the whole time the man muttering stuff like, "No good...rotten...leaving me out...plan without me..."

Hamilton and Jonah exchanged a nervous glance. Could they jump the guy before he could fire the gun? Probably not.

They turned a corner, and suddenly found themselves face-to-face with a guard. The man's face lit up. "You there!" he said, pointing at the guard. "The boss wants these two eliminated. Take 'em to the woods and shoot'em." He handed the gun to the guard.

"No problem," the guard said in a deep voice. He pushed Hamilton with the gun. "Keep walking, freaks."

Satisfied, the man turned and jogged back down the maze. The guard watched him go, and Hamilton gave Jonah an affirmative nod. This guy was small enough to take out easily.

Jonah knocked the gun out of the guard's hand, and Hamilton grabbed him by the collar and lifted him into the air. Jonah shined the flashlight onto the guard's face, then gasped.

"Hey, guys," Dan said, grinning sheepishly.

* * *

><p>Ian worked quickly now. He closed the email and turned back on the security lock. Amy looked around to make sure everything was as they found it.<p>

They went back to the door and pulled it closed. Then, with Amy's flashlight leading the way, they crept back down the passageway.

At the door, Ian reached for the lion's head knob. "Wait," Amy whispered. "What if someone's right outside?"

Ian put an ear to the door. "I don't hear anyone," he finally said. "We'll just have to risk it." He turned the knob.

The stairs rumbled down, and, thankfully, the hall was deserted. Amy turned the outer knob, the stairs moved back into place.

They looked at each other and each breathed a sigh of relief. They had done it!

Just then, Nellie's voice rang in their ears. "Bookworm, Cobra!" she said breathlessly.

Amy turned on her microphone. "What's wrong, Nel...um, what was you're name again?"

"I think Ninja Master or whatever his name is made me Chef. But forget that!" Nellie started talking excitedly. "I was just in Mrs. Dhine's room, because she had to touch up her makeup or whatever, and there's a big safe in there. I think it's worth checking out."

Amy glanced at Ian, and he nodded. "Okay," she said. "We're going."

"Wait!" Nellie said. "Before we went into the room, she typed in a code in a panel by the door."

"A password lock?" Ian asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think it was for the door. She had already opened it. I think there's some other security in there that she had to turn off. Think you can figure it out?"

This time, it was Ian who looked at Amy. She nodded.

"We'll try," Ian said.

Amy smiled, and Nellie said, "Well, good luck."

* * *

><p>Dan was lucky. He knew that if he had been caught by Amy or Nellie or Sinead, he would've gotten a severe lecture about responsibility and staying where he was told, blah, blah, blah. Hamilton and Jonah, however, were another story.<p>

"Dude!" Jonah exclaimed as Hamilton dropped Dan. He knuckle-punched the younger Cahill.

"Awesome save, man," Hamilton said, patting his shoulder. "We owe you big-time."

"What are you doing here?" Jonah asked.

Dan quickly told them about the guard in the woods and how he took the uniform.

When he finished, Hamilton looked around. "Dude, you can _not _let any of the girls find you."

Dan winced. "I know," he said. Then he added, "Where are they, anyway?"

Hamilton ticked off his fingers. "Nellie's still inside with Mrs. Dhine, Sinead's being held captive by a bunch of bloodthirsty girls..."

"You gotta be more specific than that," Jonah mumbled. "All girls are bloodthirsty."

"...and Amy and Ian are breaking into Mr. Dhine's study."

If Dan had been drinking something at that time, it would've made an awesome spit take.

"WHAT?" he exclaimed. "Who's idea was it for my sister to go with the Cobra?"

Hamilton jerked a thumb at Jonah, and he grinned sheepishly.

Dan sighed. "Whatever," he said. "When did you last hear from them?"

Jonah checked his watch. "Nineteen...no, twenty minutes ago. They should be out by now..."

Just then, Ian's voice spoke through comms. "Jonah, Hamilton, do you read me?"

"Dude," Hamilton said, "I thought we were supposed to have code names."

"Oh, right." Ian sighed. "Hamlet, Hammer, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear," Jonah said.

"We found Mr. Dhine's hidden office, and..."

"Wait," Hamilton interrupted. "Hidden?"

"It was at the end of a tunnel Amy discovered under a set of stairs. Anyway, Nellie just told us that there's a big safe in the Dhine's room. We're going to go check it out."

Dan tugged on Hamilton's arm. "Ask him what he did to Amy," he whispered, keeping his microphone off so the others wouldn't know he was there too.

"Where's Amy?" Hamilton asked.

"Right here, Ham," Amy's voice said.

Dan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Keep us posted," Jonah said.

"You got it," Ian replied, and they signed off.

* * *

><p>After turning off their microphones, Amy and Ian climbed the stairs to the second floor.<p>

They stood at the end of the hallway. "So..." Ian started, staring at the long row of doors. "Which one is the master bedroom?"

Amy started walking down the hall. She stopped by a door. "This one, most likely," she said.

Ian walked over to her. "Why do you think that?"

Amy pointed to the control panel by the side of the door and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh. Right."

They studied the keypad. "It has a six digit code," Ian observed, "a six-letter word. We could try some guesses, but there's probably some security lock down and alarm if the wrong code is entered. So we shouldn't risk it."

He opened the door, and the two of them looked inside. The room was enormous, and it looked like there were more rooms branching off of it. And, sure enough, in one corner of the suite stood a large, brass safe with a dial lock on the front.

"So close, and yet so far," Amy muttered, staring at the safe. "I wonder what the added security is...Ian?" Amy looked up at the boy, who seemed to be staring into space. She waved a hand in front of his face. "Ian?"

Ian snapped out of it and said, "Lasers."

Amy gave him a strange look. "What?"

Ian looked at her. "See those small holes in the walls?" he asked, pointing into the room. Amy squinted, and she could faintly make out the small dots spaced across the wall.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "I see them."

"Those are laser pointers," Ian said.

"Like, in PowerPoint presentations?"

"Except these could slice your arm off."

"Ah," Amy said. "Those kind of lasers."

Ian looked around. "If only we had some kind of powder, something to make the lasers visible," he said.

Amy thought for a moment. Then she said, "Be right back." She ran down the hall, back down the stairs.

Ian waited.

She finally returned, clutching a small container in her hand. "Baby powder," she said, holding it up triumphantly. "There was a bottle in the bathroom."

Ian took the bottle and grinned at her. "Brilliant," he said. He went to the doorway and popped open the lid to the powder container. Then he pulled something small out of his pocket and dropped it into the container.

"What's that?" Amy asked him.

"You'll see." He closed the lid and tossed it into the room. There was a small zipping sound as the container hit a laser, but it landed in the middle of the room, still closed.

"Oh, no," Amy moaned. "It didn't burst."

"Not yet," Ian said with a grin. He took her arm and pulled her away from the door. "Three...two...one..." he murmured. There was a muffled thump, and some white powder floated into the hallway.

"What...?" Amy asked, and she ran to the door. The baby powder container had burst, and the white powder was floating around the room. Red beams of light streaked across from the walls.

Amy whirled around. "You put a _BOMB_ in the _BABY POWDER_?"

Ian chuckled. "It seems I did," he said, brushing past her to examine his work.

"Oh my god," Amy murmured, shaking her head in amazement.

Ian dusted his hands off. "This should do," he said, rolling up his sleeves.

Amy's eyes widened. "Whoa, wait a minute," she said, stepping in front of Ian. "You're not going in there?"

Ian loosened his tie and pulled it off. "Of course I am," he said. "Here, hold this for me."

Amy took the tie. "B-but," she stuttered. "How are you going to get past the lasers?"

Ian smirked. "I thought I'd improvise a little." He headed for the door.

"Impro—are you nuts?"

Ian turned and looked her in the eye. "Amy, we're Cahills. You can't honestly say that you've just now discovered that all Cahills are at least a _little_ nuts."

Amy scowled and crossed her arms.

Ian grinned. "Wish me luck."

He stepped into the room.

* * *

><p>"Got any fives?"<p>

"Go fish."

"Dang it," Jonah grumbled, pulling a card out of the stack.

"Got any kings?" Hamilton asked Dan.

"I wish I had a Burger King right now," Dan sighed, handing Hamilton his card. "I'm out."

"Whoo-hoo!" Hamilton whooped, laying down his cards. "I win!"

"Again," Jonah mumbled, tossing down his cards. "Yo, I'm tired of waitin' around. I wanna bust this crib, fo shizzle."

Dan knew Jonah was tired. When the Janus boy got tired, annoyed, or bored, his street talk came back strong.

Hamilton stood up and stretched his arms. "What are we waiting for, anyway?" he asked.

Jonah checked the heat-sensor. "The Vesper dudes are still in conference," he said, locating the now-familiar clump of orange dots about a dozen or so yards away from the cluster of three on the readout.

"Hey, can I see that?" Dan asked. Jonah handed him the device.

Dan found the forest on the map, and saw the three orange dots that represented Natalie, Madison, and Reagan. But there was something strange about what he saw.

"What...?" he muttered, tapping the screen.

"What is it?" Hamilton asked, looking over Dan's shoulder.

"The girls," Dan said, pointing at the three orange dots. "They're moving towards the mansion."

* * *

><p>"Madison, come on, you can't..."<p>

"Watch me."

"Madison, wait!"

"No."

"Madison..."

Madison whirled around. "Are you coming or not?"

Reagan crossed her arms. "We need to stay here," she said sternly. Natalie put a hand on her hip and nodded in agreement.

Madison raised an eyebrow. "Fine," she said. "You stay here. I'm going in."

She started walking away. Reagan grabbed her arm. "Madison, you'll get caught right away," she said.

"Dan went."

"Dan had a disguise," Natalie pointed out. "You don't."

"You'll stick out like a sore thumb," Reagan finished.

"I'll give then some sore thumbs..."

"MADISON!"

"Okay, okay," Madison said. "I won't actually go _into _the place. I'll just scout around the outside."

Reagan shook her head. "It's too dangerous," she said.

Madison snorted. "Since when have I stayed away from danger?" she asked. She got nose to nose with her sister. "Danger is our way of life," she said. "We breathe it. We live it. We..."

"...eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Reagan sighed, finishing one of their dad's favorite sayings.

Madison smiled triumphantly. "So?"

Reagan sighed. "Fine." She turned to Natalie. "See you later."

Natalie crossed her arms. "And what makes you think you're going anywhere without me?" she asked. She spun her dart gun on her finger and smirked. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>*cue the awesome Mission Impossible music* Duh, duh, da duh, duh, duh, duh duh...you get the idea.<strong>

**Anyway.**

**Whoo-hoo! Chapter Nineteen! Next is the big two-oh! ARE YOU PUMPED? *crickets* Oh. Well, at least I am.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-TribalGirl: PAGE 113 WAS A FAIL! Okay, just felt like yelling that in all caps locks. Anyway, yeah, I don't ship Xarter that much. I just tolerate it. Oh, and I enjoyed your educated conversation with Sinead XD**

**-bookgirl39: *facepalm**headdesk**headwall**headboulder* HOW COULD I MAKE SUCH A HORRIBLE MISTAKE? Book 3. That's what I meant. *mutters to self* Stupid, stupid...XD Oh, and thanks for accepting my clicne-ness.  
><strong>

**-therockinCookie: Aww, thanks. I try my best!**

**-Evanescence456: Do you really expect Ian to have blush on him? _Really?_**

**-SilverRiver2: You're welcome! And thank _you _so much! A39CM. YES. EPIC TO THE NTH DEGREE. And I'm so excited for the Threequel! **

**-TheBooknerds: You know, I think that's the first time anyone's ever asked me that. I mean, people usually take it for granted: Okay, that person is a Hamy fan, that person is an Amian fan, that person is a Natan fan...and so on. Most people don't stop to think whether these pairings make sense, as long as they like it. Okay, sorry about that little tangent thingy. I'll answer your question now. I personally have nothing against Hamy. On the contrary, I wouldn't mind it at all. But I've always liked Amian, just because I really believe that Ian really likes Amy. And although he has done cruel things to her, I'm hoping that he has (or will) change enough to be good enough for her.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

**The Booknerds' question has given me my next Chapterly Challenge (when was that last time I did that?) Let me know who you prefer...Amian, Hamy, Evamy...or if you just don't care! But the main thing: Let me know _why_. I understand if you don't want to do it (I just realized that this kind of sounded like an English assignment), but it's be cool if you did. Now I'm curious.**

**Okay, I think that's all for now. Oh, if you liked my disclaimer, feel free to use it for your 39 Clues stories. Just give Jonah and I credit XD**

**Until Chapter XX,**

**-KT_  
><em>**


	20. Chapter 20

**I KNOW! I KNOW! IT'S BEEN FOREVER! I'M SOOOOOOO SORRY!**

* * *

><p>The three girls walked through the forest towards the mansion. Suddenly, Dan's voice rang in their ears over comms.<p>

"Where are you guys going?" he exclaimed.

"How did you know we were moving?" Madison exclaimed with an equal amount of dismay. "Did you put a tracking device on Reagan or something?"

Reagan punched her on the arm, but Madison just ignored her.

"Uh, NO," Dan said. "I'm with Ham and Jonah. Jonah had a heat-sensor device, and according to it, you three are heading for the mansion. What gives?"

Reagan sighed. "Madison wants to scout around a little," she said.

"No," came Hamilton's voice. "It's too dangerous. You stay where you are."

"But it's so boring just standing around!" Natalie whined.

"Should we let Ian in on this conversation and ask his opinion?" Jonah asked.

"I'm sure he'd agree with us," Dan added.

"Do you want _us_ to let Amy in on this conversation and ask _her _opinion?" Natalie asked. "I'm sure she'd love to hear why you aren't here in the forest where you're supposed to be."

"Hey–" Hamilton protested.

"And," Reagan added, "I'm also sure Amy would _love_ to hear how you two didn't send him back immediately when you discovered him."

There was silence for several seconds. Then a sigh.

"Fine," Hamilton said. "Go ahead."

The girls grinned at each other.

"Actually," Dan said, "There _is_ one thing you three could check out..."

* * *

><p>Amy anxiously twisted Ian's tie in her hands as he gracefully maneuvered himself through the laser beams. She had to admire how he was able to twist under the beams and jump over others, as if he was on a jungle gym instead of a room full of high-tech security.<p>

He had almost reached the safe when he swung his leg down a little too low. There was a zip and a snap, and Amy gasped. "Are you okay?" she exclaimed.

Ian looked down at his leg, then let out a sigh of relief. "It just got the trousers," he said.

Amy breathed out a sigh, and watched him duck under one other laser. He was standing by the safe.

Ian turned and flashed her a grin. "I improvised. And it worked," he said.

Amy rolled her eyes, relieved that it had worked. "Okay, good job, now crack open the safe before the baby powder fades away."

Ian nodded and crouched by the safe. He pulled a small device out of his pocket and clamped it onto the dial.

He worked for a few minutes. Amy stood by the door, anxiously looking up and down the hallway every thirty seconds.

Finally, she heard a click. She turned around, and watched Ian slowly open the safe.

* * *

><p>"Is this it?" Natalie asked quietly, standing over the metal grate.<p>

"Do you see any other sewage grates around?" Madison asked. "Yeah, I think this is it."

The twins stood on either side of the grate and lifted. The metal scraped against the stone with a loud screech, and they froze. A dog barked in the distance. The music from the party played in the distance. But no flashing lights or yelling guards. So far so good.

Reagan and Madison put the grate down in the grass. The three girls looked down the hole.

"Madison, where are those night vision goggles?" Natalie asked.

Madison pulled three pairs of goggles out of the bag and passed them around. They put them on, and suddenly the world was green, and they could see better.

Reagan looked down the hole again. The pipe went straight down into the ground about six feet, then leveled off and traveled straight. She couldn't see down the horizontal tunnel.

"It's not that big of a jump," Madison said. She sat on the edge of the hole and dropped. She landed with a wet thud at the bottom.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked impatiently.

Reagan dropped down the hole. She looked up at Natalie. "C'mon, Nat," she said. "It isn't that far."

Natalie looked cautiously down the hole. "I don't know..." she said worriedly.

The three girls suddenly heard the bark of a guard dog, not far away. "On second thought..." Natalie said quickly, and jumped.

* * *

><p>"Do you have any threes?"<p>

"Go fish."

"Do you have any eights?"

"Go fish."

"Do you have any elevens?"

"There aren't any elevens!"

"Then I must have two ones."

"Dude, there aren't any ones, either."

"But–"

"Guys!" Jonah interrupted, "The meeting's breaking up."

Hamilton and Dan looked over his shoulder at the readout, dropping their playing cards. Sure enough, the cluster of orange dots was moving apart. Some were heading towards the small threesome of dots that represented the Cahill boys.

"Let's start walking," Hamilton suggested, "We don't want to get face-to-face with those guys again."

The boys started down the path.

* * *

><p>Ian looked into the safe and whistled low.<p>

"What?" Amy asked from the doorway. "What is it?"

Ian looked at her. "Nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean, nothing?"

Ian moved out of the way so she could see into the safe. It was empty.

Ian shook his head. "This doesn't make sense," he said. "Why would anyone keep an empty safe in their room?"

Amy stared at the safe. The rectangular opening stood several inches off of the floor. But the front of the safe went all the way to the floor. What if...?

"Check for a false bottom," Amy said suddenly.

Ian looked at her, then at the safe, then back at her in amazement, inwardly cursing himself for not thinking of that first. "Amy–"

"Hurry and check it!" Amy said, anxiously checking the hall. "Who knows when Mrs. Dhine will need to touch up her makeup again?"

Ian turned back to the safe and stuck his hand in. He rapped on the inside bottom, then felt around the edges. Slowly, he pulled up the false bottom. He laid it gently on the floor, then looked back into the safe. He whistled low.

"What?"

Ian grinned. "How do you Americans say it? Jackpot?"

* * *

><p>"Ah! Double back! They're coming down this way!"<p>

The three boys turned around and ran back down the path. They turned a few corners and stopped, Jonah and Dan panting for breath.

Hamilton, not looking winded at all, took the heat-sensor from Jonah. "I think we're clear," he said. "They're all moving away from us, to the exit." He stared at the readout for another moment. "I guess they don't want to all exit together. They're leaving in twos and threes."

"Speaking of leaving," Dan said. "When will we get to do that?"

Jonah checked his watch. "It's almost eleven," he said.

Dan yawned. "My point exactly," he said. "Didn't Mr. McIntyre tell us we have a curfew of 11:30? Besides, I'm wiped out!"

Hamilton patted him on the shoulder. "Hang in there, little buddy," he said. "We'll be out soon."

Jonah switched on his microphone. "I think it's time to have a Cahill call-in."

* * *

><p>"Yo, whoever's still alive, call in."<p>

"I'm here," Natalie said.

"Me too," the twins echoed.

"Everything's fine here," Ian said.

"Except for the high-powered lasers standing between you and the exit," Amy muttered.

"Dude!" Dan exclaimed. "High-powered lasers? Where are you and how can I get there?"

"Don't even think about it," Nellie's voice came.

"Aw, Nellie..."

"You stay right where you are in the forest," she said.

There was radio silence.

"Dan..." Amy said warningly. "You _are _in the forest, aren't you?"

"Well, you see..."

"We _tried_ to talk him out of it!" Madison interrupted.

"Oh, don't pretend you didn't want to go too," Reagan said, scowling. "You're just jealous that you couldn't dress up as a guard–"

"_WHAT?_" Amy and Nellie cried.

"He's here with us," Hamilton said.

"Yeah, he's fine," Jonah added.

"You two kept him with you?" Amy exclaimed. "You _encouraged_ this?"

"No, no, of course not..."

"Man, we totally told him off for it..."

"Yeah, that's why you high-fived me for saving your sorry butts by getting you away from that guy with the gun," Dan muttered.

"_WHAT?_" Nellie exclaimed.

"Whoops, did I say that out loud?"

"Do you still have the gun?"

"Ian! Don't encourage him!" Amy cried.

"Amy, I think you're taking this too seriously–"

"Natalie's not in the forest anymore, either," Madison informed him slyly.

"_WHAT? _Natalie, I told you to stay where you were–"

"But, Ian, it was so boring..."

"Yeah, so we left the forest and jumped down this sewer grate..."

"_WHAT?_" Amy, Ian, and Nellie all exclaimed.

"Hey everyone," Sinead's voice cut in. "Sorry it took me so long to report. I had to make about a hundred excuses before I could get away. What'd I miss?"

"Dan, Natalie, Reagan, and Madison left the forest," Amy told her.

"_WHAT?_"

Hamilton snickered.

"Shut up, Ham," Madison snarled.

"Make me."

"Oh, you're asking for it..."

"Dan, how could you–"

"I just–"

"Natalie, I'm ashamed of you–"

"Well, you weren't–"

"Shut up, Reagan!"

"You shut up!"

"Why can't you–"

"–for once–"

"–never–"

"–but I–"

"–how–"

"YO!" Jonah yelled. Everyone fell silent.

"We don't have time for this!" he exclaimed. "It's almost eleven, and we all need to get out of here, _soon_. Y'all can argue at the apartment. Right now, we gotta split."

There was a general mumbling as everyone signed off.

* * *

><p>Ian turned off his microphone and started pulling out stacks of $50 and $100 bills.<p>

"Whoa," Amy breathed. "T-that's a lot of cash."

Ian pulled out the last stack. "That must be at least a million dollars," he said. Once upon a time, a meager amount like that would be nothing to him. But after three years of living sparingly, the sight of all that money was a sight for sore eyes.

"We've got to get this out of here," he said.

"But...but... Amy stuttered. "That's _stealing!_"  
>Ian raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that clearly read, <em>Your point...?<br>_  
>Amy sighed. "Fine," she said. "How are we going to get it all out of here?"<p>

Ian thought for a moment. "Well, we could–"

Amy suddenly waved at him to be silent. "Sh!" she said. "I hear something."

They listened.

* * *

><p>Natalie and the twins switched off their microphones. "Jonah's right," Reagan said. "We can't argue now. Let's just see if this sewer leads to anywhere interesting, and then we can leave."<p>

Natalie and Madison mumbled agreement, and the three girls started down the tunnel.

"Ew," Natalie said, stepping into something wet. "I'm starting to regret this."

Madison rolled her eyes, and plowed through the wet sewer.

Reagan suddenly saw something ahead of them. "I see a light," she said.

"Don't go to it!" Madison exclaimed.

Reagan punched her in the shoulder. "No, you dope," she said. "Take off your goggles and look ahead." Her twin and Natalie did so, and saw the faint light ahead of them.

"Let's go," Reagan said, moving towards the light.

* * *

><p>"I don't hear anything."<p>

"I heard a thunk."

"A _thunk?_"

"Yeah, over there."

Amy pointed to the wall behind Ian.

* * *

><p>The three girls reached the end of the tunnel. Light seeped through a small crack in the wall.<p>

"I think it's a door," Natalie said.

"Let's open it, then," said Madison.

The girls pushed against the door.

* * *

><p>Ian looked at the wall. Several paintings hung on the wall. Most of them were small portraits or landscapes, but one was a large portrait of a middle-aged man with a black beard and piercing eyes.<p>

And then the portrait moved.

* * *

><p>The door flew open, and Reagan, Madison, and Natalie fell out of the portrait hole and onto the floor next to Ian.<p>

Ian jumped back. Amy stifled a yelp of surprise.

The three girls looked up. "Well, fancy meeting you here," Natalie said, grinning sheepishly at her brother.

"What on Earth...how did you three get in there?" Ian asked, amazed.

"Sewer," Reagan said in explanation. "The tunnel led down here."

Madison saw the piles of money, and her eyes bugged out of her head. "Whoa," she said. "Where did you get all that?"

Ian turned and grinned at Amy. "I think I just solved our problem," he said.

* * *

><p>The three boys emerged from the maze. They quickly ran across the lawn and into the forest. Once protected by the trees, they slowed to a walk.<p>

Jonah checked his heat-sensor. "No one nearby," he reported. "We just need to get to the road, and we're clear."

"What about the cars we drove here?" Hamilton asked.

Jonah shrugged. "Mr. M said he'd take care of that."

"Guys," Dan said, "I think I see the road."

* * *

><p>They put all of the money into sacks that Madison had in her bag. "Okay, we're all set," Reagan said, lifting three of the bags. Madison picked up three more, and each of the Kabra kids picked up one.<p>

The girls climbed into the tunnel. Ian looked across the room at Amy. "Are you going to come this way?" he asked.

Amy looked at the lasers shimmering in the fading baby powder, and shook her head. "I'll leave the normal way," she said.

"All right," Ian said, hoisting himself into the portrait hole. "Just...be careful, okay?"

"I will."

Ian gave her one last smile before he closed the portrait behind him.

* * *

><p>Amy went back downstairs and entered the hall. Some people had left or were getting ready to leave, but most people were still chatting, laughing, and dancing. Amy spotted Nellie in one corner, and Sinead at her table. She could tell that Sinead was trying to leave, but was having a lot of trouble. She started over to help her cousin, but she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.<p>

"Hey, Rebecca," David said, coming up behind her. "I was wondering where you went." Strangely enough, he didn't seem to remember getting drunk and being knocked out in the maze.

Amy smiled. "I was out getting some air," she said. "I'm just getting ready to leave."

David's face dropped. "Oh. You're leaving?"

Amy nodded.

"Well, maybe...I don't know...would you like to get together sometime?" David looked at her hopefully.

Amy paused. "I really don't know..."

"Tell you what," David interrupted, digging a piece of paper and pencil out of his pocket. "I'll be at this café tomorrow at four. If you can come, great. If you can't, I won't feel blown of. Okay?" He scribbled an address on the paper and handed it to Amy, his hand lightly brushing hers as she took the paper.

"Okay," Amy said, putting the paper in her purse. "Thanks, David."

"Let me walk you to the door."

They walked out of the hall to the main doors. David opened the door for her, and they stepped outside. The familiar limousine pulled into the looped driveway and stopped at the bottom of the steps. "That's my car," Amy said.

"Okay. Goodbye, Rebecca. I hope I see you tomorrow." Then, much to Amy's surprise, he kissed her quickly on the cheek. He went back inside before she could react.

Amy walked down the steps and opened the passenger side door. She climbed in and closed the door. "Did you see that?" she asked Fiske, who was in the driver's seat.

"Not if you didn't want me to," Fiske said, looking like he was trying to hold back a smile. "I can't speak for them, though."

Amy whirled around in her seat. Dan, Hamilton, Jonah, Reagan, Natalie, Madison, and Ian all sat on the back of the limo.

"H-hey, guys," Amy said weakly.

* * *

><p>"No, don't go!" one woman begged, pulling on Sinead's arm.<p>

"The party just started," said another.

Sinead finally pulled herself away from the group. "I really have to go," she said, then made her escape before they could protest even more.

She practically ran out the door and down the steps. Much to her relief, Ned had just pulled up in the Toyota, and she dove into the passenger seat.

"Did everyone get out okay?" she asked her brother.

Ned backed the car down the driveway. "Fiske got everyone except Nellie," he said. "We're picking her up around back."

He pulled the car around the back of the mansion. Nellie quickly appeared at the servants' door and ran to the car. She, too, dove into the backseat. "Drive!" she exclaimed, slamming the door shut behind her. With a screech of breaks, Ned drove the car down the driveway and onto the road.

Sinead turned around in her seat. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Nellie pulled her wig off and shook out her black and platinum hair. "Oh, I'm fine," she said. "It's just that I knew Mrs. Dhine was looking for me, and if she found me, I wouldn't have been able to leave until five in the morning."  
>She sighed contentedly and leaned back in her seat. "Is everyone out of there?" she asked.<p>

"Yup," Sinead said, "We did it."

* * *

><p><strong>YES! FINALLY! HALLELUJAH! THANK THE GODS! THANK THE MUSES! THANK MY TEACHERS, WHO BARELY ASSIGNED ANY HOMEWORK THIS WEEKEND!<strong>

**I am so so so so so so so so times a billion sorry for taking so long to update. It's the usual story. School started, tons of homework. Also, I got a lead role in our school play, and we have rehearsal every day, so a lot of the times I don't have time to get on the computer. And sometimes I** **have time to get on the computer, but not enough time to update. And sometimes I have enough time to get on the computer to update, but I'm so tired it takes all I have to just update my status on Goodreads. I'm _wiped_, people.**

**But anyway.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-therockinCookie: Thank you, my unofficial beta reader. I'll probably forget to fix it, but thanks anyway.**

**-bookgirl39: Anyone having doubts about Amian...read bookgirl's review. That was deep. XD**

**Little side note, thank you everyone who responded to my chapterly challenge. It was obvious that Amian won over Hamy from the answers I got. I could go back and forth on the topic for hours...but I have to eat dinner in ten minutes. So, yeah.**

**-GimmeaTARDIS: How did I come up with the rap? *points to self* Janus.**

**-AngelLilies: THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO ME! I had to bug my mom to take me, and first we had to stop and bring some money to my aunt, and when we _finally _got to B&N, I ran around wildly looking for the book before I found it, facing a wall. I was like, "WHAT THE HECK? THIS BOOK SHOULD BE DISPLAYED IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM WITH THREE SPOTLIGHTS ON IT! COME ON, PEOPLE!"**

**-Hello: ((Dude, can't you be a little more creative with the name? XD)) Thanks for sticking with the story! To be honest, I still don't know what Dan was doing in the library. Originally, I had him stalking Reagan to a basketball court, but changed it when I posted on FF. I'm not the best planner in advance. And, again, I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK ME THIS LONG TO UPDATE! And, as I said to GimmeaTARDIS above: Janus.**

**Thank you, all who reviewed. You all ROCK!**

**The craziest thing happened. I got this compatibility app on my iPod. You put two people's names and it determines what their compatibility is. Ian+Amy: 96%. Evan+Amy: 96%. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?**

**Oh, and for our school play, we sell boosters for our programs. Boosters are basically messages people write for the performers, and the messages are put in the programs. My friend ((Cahills Reading Fanfiction readers: Y'know, the crazy one with the chainsaw?)) wrote me a message, writing, "To: Mrs. Kabra." I AM NOT THAT OBSESSED WITH IAN KABRA! I'M NOT OBSESSED WITH HIM, PERIOD! SHE IS UNDER THE DELUSION THAT I'M IN LOVE WITH HIM AND WANT TO MARRY HIM! -.-**

**One last thing. I probably won't have time to do anything about this, but for those of you who are stalkers and looked at my profile, I have _nothing. _So, if anyone has any ideas of outlines or anything else I can put on my profile, just let me know. Maybe if you have something on your profile that I can use, that'd be cool, too.**

**Hope to be updating SYB very soon! CRF might take a little longer, though.**

**Until Chapter XXI,**

**-KT**


	21. Chapter 21

***Happy dance* I updated, I updated, uh-huh, oh yeah...**

* * *

><p>The five minute drive from the Dhine's house to the apartment was spent in an awkward silence, in which both Fiske and Hamilton tried to break about three times each, failing epically every time.<p>

They finally reached the apartment, and the kids all tumbled gratefully out of the car and ran into the house.

A few minutes later, the two Starlings and Nellie arrived, and they followed.

Inside, the Cahill kids were greeted by Mr. McIntyre. "We're having a meeting in fifteen minutes," he said. "Be in the den by then."

There was a mad dash to the bathroom, but Natalie beat them all. Amy went to her room to take off her wig and change clothes, and the rest of the kids waited for Natalie to finish.

Eight minutes later, Natalie emerged. "It's all yours," she said airily, breezing past them.

There was another battle to get into the bathroom, and amidst the commotion, Dan snuck in and locked the door.

* * *

><p>After the fifteen minutes were up, the nine Cahills and Nellie were gathered in the den, dressed down in sweatpants and T-shirts. They were quickly joined by Ned, Ted, Mr. McIntyre, and Fiske.<p>

Mr. McIntyre clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "Okay," he said. "Give me your reports."

Everyone started talking at once.

"Well, the food was terrible..."

"Dan knocked out this guard in the forest..."

"There was this huge maze, and..."

"...so we went down this sewer, and..."

"...lasers, so Amy..."

"...they wouldn't give me time to breathe, and I..."

Fiske banged his hand on the coffee table for silence. "One at a time, please," he said.

The kids all looked at each other.

"I'll start," Amy said. She told the others about David, conveniently leaving out the part about him getting drunk and trying to kiss her.

"He gave me this before I left," she said, handing the piece of paper with the cafe's address on it.

"He asked you on a date?" Natalie squealed.

Amy felt Ian tense next to her.

"No!" Amy exclaimed. "He just...wanted to get together."

"A daaaate," Nellie sang, high-fiving Natalie.

Mr. McIntyre studied the paper. "You may want to meet him tomorrow," he said to Amy.

"What?" Ian exclaimed.

Mr. McIntyre looked at the Kabra boy. "She may be able to get more valuable information," he said.

Ian sat back and started mumbling to himself.

"Ew," Dan said, "my sister's going on a date."

"It's not a date!"

"Mr. M," Hamilton said, "do you think it'll be safe for her? I mean, what if it's a trap?"

Mr. McIntyre nodded thoughtfully. "We could have some of you shadow her..."

Ian, Hamilton, and Dan all sat up at once. "I'll go," they said in unison.

"I feel _so _safe now," Amy said drily.

Mr. McIntyre rubbed his hands together. "Great," he said. "It's settled."

He turned to the others. "Any other reports?"

Hamilton told them about the meeting in the maze, and Jonah took up the narration when Dan came to their rescue.

Mr. McIntyre looked sternly at Dan. "And what were you doing out of the forest?"

Reagan spoke up before Dan could respond. She told Mr. McIntyre about finding the guard in the forest (Natalie smugly pointing out that it was her dart gun that knocked him out), and then about Dan stealing the guard's uniform.

Then she told him about the three girls going down the sewer grate. Just before she was going to tell Mr. McIntyre about the portrait hole, Ian interrupted.

"Let me tell what happened to us first," he said.

Mr. McIntyre gave him a curious look, but nodded. "Go on."

Ian told the lawyer about him and Amy finding the hidden study, and finding the coded message on the computer. "Amy decoded it," he said. "It read..."

"Football game Sat.," Amy said. "Under bleachers, eight."

Dan snapped his fingers. "There's a football game at the high school tomorrow," he said.

"Wait a minute..." Jonah said slowly. He turned to Hamilton. "Didn't Mr. Dhine say something about meeting a 'friend'? Could this be the meeting?"

Mr. McIntyre nodded. "We certainly will look into this," he said.

Ian continued his narration, telling the others about the lasers and safe in the Dhines' room. When he got to the portrait hole, he stopped, and gestured to Reagan to finish what she had been saying before.

"It turns out," Reagan said, "that the tunnel led to the Dhines' room. We pushed on the wall, and it opened one of the large portraits on the wall."

"And that was how we got the money out," Ian finished. "The girls and I went down the tunnel, and Amy left through the front door."

"...where David Dhine asked Amy out," Natalie finished, and was rewarded by seeing her brother's face turn red.

"Yes," Ian said through gritted teeth.

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm sure no one's interested in what happened to ME," Nellie said, putting her feet up on he coffee table.

"Did you find out anything?" Dan asked her.

Nellie sighed dramatically. "Well, I found out the themes of every party Mrs. Dhine has ever thrown, all the foods that make Mr. Dhine puke..."

"Shakespeare word," Dan murmured, grinning at Amy.

"...and other useless facts like that. Absolutely nothing about Vespers or anything juicy."

"You tried your best, Nellie," Amy said gently.

"And," Mr. McIntyre said, "if she was satisfied with your work, she may call you again for a future party."

Nellie's face lit up. "Oh, she was VERY satisfied," she said smugly. "Everyone _loved _the food."

"_Almost _everyone," Amy murmured.

Nellie ignored her. "It's very likely she'll call me again."

"Excellent," Mr. McIntyre said, standing up. "Everything is going smoothly. As long as the location of the apartment stays a secret, we can continue this work."

Jonah and Hamilton glanced at each other.

"Actually..."

"Yeah, about that..."

Mr. McIntyre looked at them. "What is it?" he asked.

Hamilton winced. "Apparently, they've been following Amy and Dan. According to Mr. Dhine, they don't know where we are, yet."

"But," Jonah added, "he said they would know in a few days."

The room was deadly silent. Nellie was the first to speak.

"We have to get out of here," she said.

"Agreed." Fiske stood up. "And I know just where to go. Everyone, back your bags and meet me by the front door in twenty minutes."

He left the room, with Mr. McIntyre close behind.

The others looked at each other. Then they all jumped up and dashed down the hall to their rooms.

* * *

><p>In five minutes, Ian and Hamilton had packed all of their belongings into their bags. Dan was still staring into his closet, trying to decide what would go and what would stay.<p>

Fiske entered the room and saw his nephew's dilemma.

"Just pack what you need for the next few nights," he said. "I'll have some men come and pick up the rest of your, Amy's and Nellie's belongings."

Dan let out a sigh of relief. He quickly stuffed some T-shirts and pants into a knapsack. Then he looked around at the room.

"Uncle Fiske," he said, "are we ever coming back here?"

Fiske's face was drawn and dark. "I don't know, kiddo," he said, "But I think you will be fairly satisfied with where we will be staying."

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes after the sudden end to the meeting in the den, everyone was gathered by the front door, ready to go.<p>

Fiske came back inside. "We have the SUV and limo outside. I'm driving the SUV, Nellie's driving the limo."

"Sweet!" Nellie exclaimed.

"Mr. McIntyre," Fiske added, "will be staying here to tie up some loose ends."

He opened the door. "Okay, everybody out!"

There was a mad dash for the limo. In the end, Natalie, Reagan, Sinead, Dan, and Ted got the limo. Amy, Hamilton, Ian, Madison, Ned, and Jonah piled into the SUV.

* * *

><p>Nellie followed Fiske down the highway. It was just past midnight, and there were hardly any other cars on the road.<p>

They finally turned down a long driveway that was familiar to all of the Cahills. In their separate vehicles, Amy and Dan gasped.

The familiar mansion came into view as they drove down the driveway. It looked the same as it had every weekend of their life until three years ago.

The Holts winced as they saw Grace Cahill's mansion. It had been their family who had burned it down in the first place.

The SUV and limo pulled up to the front doors. Amy and Dan were the first ones out, and they ran up to the huge wooden doors.

"It's..." Amy breathed.

"...not burned," Dan finished. He turned to his great-uncle, who was getting out of the SUV. "How...?"

Fiske smiled. "The mansion still technically belongs to you two. I took the liberty of having it rebuilt a while back."

Dan looked at his sister, who looked like she was tearing up.

Behind them, Jonah whistled. "Dang," he said. "That's hot."

Fiske handed Amy a set of keys. "This one is for the front door," he said, holding up a small silver one. Amy took he key in trembling hands, and put it in the lock. Dan pushed open the door, and they stepped inside.

* * *

><p>It was as if they had never been on the hunt. Any second, Grace would come striding into the front hall with Saladin in her arms. Everything was the same as always, from the wallpaper to the floor tiles to the pictures hanging on the wall.<p>

Amy turned in a slow circle, taking it all in. "How did you do it?" she asked in awe.

Fiske smiled. "I had lived in this house all my life," he said. "I spent most of my time wandering around these halls. It wasn't hard to duplicate the original."

Dan was speechless, for once. He just stood still, gaping at his surroundings.

"Okay," Fiske said. "Amy, Dan, why don't you two show everyone to the guest bedrooms?" He smiled. "I'm sure you two will want to stay in your old rooms."

At that, the two Cahills dashed down the hall, not bothering to see if the others were following. They ran up the familiar set of stairs, and down another hallway.

The siblings reached the end of the hall, and they each pulled open doors across the hall from each other.

Amy stepped into her old room and gasped. The old oak bookcase was in the corner. Of course, she knew it wasn't the same bookcase, but it looked so the same that she couldn't help but think it was.

Only a few books were on the shelves—Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, and a few others. She didn't expect Fiske to remember every book that she kept on those shelves, but she loved him for remembering those few.

Amy realized that Fiske must have visited Grace many times during the week, while Amy and Dan were at the apartment. He must have looked into their rooms before. Amy vaguely remembered discovering a new book on her shelf every once in awhile. She had always assumed it was Grace. Could it have been Fiske?

Her bed was tucked into the opposite corner, with the same light green sheets and pillows. Stars twinkled from the window next to the bed, and the deep purple cushions sat on the window seat, same as always. Amy curled up on the window seat and stared out into the night.

* * *

><p>Dan burst into his old room and whooped. His ninja pictures and posters were tacked onto the wall over his bed. In his closet, two empty cardboard boxes sat on the floor—for storing his card collection, just like he used too.<br>He collapsed onto his bed with a contented sigh, and was amazed to see that Fiske had even remembered the glow-in-the-dark stars pasted into the ceiling.

* * *

><p>The remaining Cahills stood awkwardly in the hallway.<p>

Nellie was the first to speak. "I guess," she said slowly, "we can just pick out our own rooms?"

There was a murmuring of agreement, and the kids found places to sleep, in hopes of a good night's rest.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, semi-short chapter. Sorry about that. This is more like a "review and bridge" chapter than anything else. I'm pretty sure there will be more going on in the next chapter.<strong>

**Response to Reviews:**

**-AngelLilies: Well, what can I do? She's paying the dollar. Plus, I don't have any chocolate cake XD**

**-ashleybett: I fixed it, thank you. It was just a typo.**

**-I'mDifferent-GetOverIt: Thanks for understanding!**

**-booklover1209: Wow, that good? XD Thanks! Yeah...sorry. Not really a Datalie fan. I was planning on a little Deagan, but idk how much. **

**-The Booknerds: It's called The Love of Three** **Oranges, and I play a clown. It's pretty funny. Break a leg in your play!**

**-Hello: Fine, it's your choice XD Sorry...Natalie and Jonah got a 42%. Not good odds. And I just updated SYB! But it's kind of lame...*sigh***

**-SlytherinGurrl: See** **above.**

**-Hiker Writer:**

**Me: DAN! YOU FORGOT TO USE CODE NAMES!**

**Dan: Hey, I was concentrating on not getting caught, okay? EXCUSE ME!**

**Dan apologizes for his fail.**

**-AUniqueGirl: YES! TAKE THAT, EVAN TOLLIVER!**

**-Melissa White: Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. And about the duck...well, you see, Mrs. Dhine wanted to serve beet soup, but beet soup is one of the few foods in this world that Nellie does not like. *GASP*** **Anyway, since she was pretending to be the party planner, she took out the soup and skipped right to the main course. Luckily, Mrs. Dhine failed to notice this. And there was dessert, it was just not important enough to be mentioned in the narrative. Sorry if that wasn't clear XD**

**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! YOU PEOPLE MAKE MY DAY!**

**I'm hoping to update soon, but no promises. Our show is next week, and there's so much work to be done. So please enjoy, review, and patiently await...**

**CHAPTER 22**

**-KT**

**P.S. Hope everyone had a happy Halloween! I was Annabeth, and I made a CHB t-shirt and wore a Yankees hat. ((I didn't turn invisible though...*sad*))**


	22. Chapter 22

**It's taken forever...I know...I'm sorry...again...**

* * *

><p>Amy awoke to the sound of birds chirping. Her nose was cold. She opened her eyes, and realized that she had fallen asleep with her face pressed against the window.<p>

She sat up, yawned, and stretched. She pulled her watch out of her backpack and checked the time. 11:00 AM.

Amy was startled. She never slept that late. Dan was always the late riser in the morning. Then again, Amy usually didn't stay up until 1:00 in the morning, even if she had a really good book to read.

Amy rolled off the window seat and changed out of her wrinkled clothing into a fresh T-shirt and jeans. Then she opened her door and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She doubted that there would be any breakfast foods, but maybe Fiske had some dried goods in the cellar.

Amy reached the kitchen and peeked around the corner.

Dan was at the stove, mixing something with a spatula in a pan. Reagan ran over and shook some pepper into the pan. Dan looked indignant, and Reagan shook some pepper onto his head and laughed when he started sneezing.

Hamilton was slicing some strawberries at the table, but when Jonah walked past with a bottle of juice, he started gesturing excitedly with the knife, almost slicing Ian, who was walking by with a carton of eggs.

Madison and Sinead, whose faces were covered with flour, were wiping off the table, which was also covered with flour. Madison swiped some flour at Natalie, who shrieked and almost dropped the packet of bacon she was carrying. Ned took the bacon from Natalie and put it onto a pan, which he put on the stove next to Dan. Ted grabbed the bacon package and tossed it at the trashcan. His aim was a little off, and it hit Nellie, who was mixing batter in a bowl by the door.

Amy stepped into the kitchen, bent over, and picked up the package. She tossed it into the garbage, then said to Nellie, "Wow. You've got a whole production line going on here!"

Nellie grinned. "This is gonna be an awesome breakfast, that's for sure."

Amy looked at all the food around them. "Where did the food come from?"

Dan looked up from the stove. "Ham and Jonah drove out early and picked up some groceries."

Hamilton popped a strawberry into his mouth. "There's an A&P right on the highway," he said. "Actually, there's a whole big shopping center there."

Natalie's head popped up from behind the counter. "Can we go shopping?"

"No," Madison said flatly, handing a pair of oven mitts to Sinead. "No shopping."

Natalie made a face at her. Sinead put on the mitts and opened the oven. She pulled out a tray of muffins.

"Out of the way, hot stuff coming through!" she cried, running back to the table and putting down the hot tray.

Jonah tried to grab a muffin, but Madison batted his hand away. "Forget it. You have to wait like the rest of us to eat my delicious muffins!"

While her back was turned, Ned snitched a muffin from the tray and took it to a corner to eat.

Madison turned back to the tray. "Hey..."

"Nellie! Is the waffle batter ready?" Dan interrupted.

Nellie went to the counter and poured the batter into the waffle iron. She closed the lid and walked away.

Jonah, who was still pouring orange juice, spilled some onto the floor. When he turned to grab a towel, Sinead, who was going to put the flour away, slipped on the juice. The flour went flying, and exploded onto Dan, Reagan, and Amy, who were all standing by the stove.

Natalie turned, and, seeing the three pale white figures, screamed, "Ghosts!" She turned to run, and crashed into Hamilton, who dropped the eggs on Ian, who staggered around with egg in his eyes and bumped into Jonah, who collided with Ted, who slid in the orange juice that was still on the floor and knocked over Nellie, who tripped into Madison and Ned, who were in the corner arguing about the missing muffin.

* * *

><p>Fiske Cahill was met with an interesting sight when he entered the kitchen.<p>

Amy, Dan, and Reagan stood by the stove, covered from head to toe in flour. Everyone else was in a pile on the floor, splattered with flour, orange juice, and eggs.

Fiske raised an eyebrow, and looked like he was trying to hold down a smile. "Well...erm, good morning, everyone."

"'Morning."

"Hey."

"Hola."

"Good morning."

"'sup, Mr. C?"

Fiske surveyed the mess. "I assume you were attempting to make breakfast?"

Madison grinned weakly from under Ned's arm. "We have muffins," she said.

"Amateurs," Nellie scoffed, trying to pull her arm out from under Hamilton's leg.

Everyone got to their feet and looked around at the mess.

Nellie rolled up her sleeves. "Okay, everyone out," she said, shooing them all out of the kitchen. "I'll finish breakfast and call you all when it's ready."

The kids and Fiske filed out of the kitchen.

Natalie looked down at herself. "I'm going to take a shower," she said, examining her hair and making a face.

Everyone else mumbled the same, and they all separated and went to the many bathrooms that were located in the mansion. Fiske went into the living room to read the morning paper.

* * *

><p>After breakfast (which was very good, as was expected of Nellie), Dan walked down to the stream. To his delight, the rope swing was still there, tied to the branch of a tree right by the water.<p>

Not bothering to take off his shirt, he grabbed onto the rope and swung out over the stream. With a whoop, he dropped into the icy water, not caring that it was only 55 degrees out and the water was freezing.

He surfaced, shaking out his hair and grinning happily.

Amy appeared over the hill. "Dan!" she yelled. "Where are you?"

"I'm down here!" he yelled back, pulling himself out of the water.

Amy ran down to the stream. "Daniel Cahill!" she scolded. "Don't you know better than to jump into the stream in the middle of February?"

Dan grinned. "Yeah. But I did it anyway."

Amy sighed. "I thought you would," she said, "when I saw you heading down this way. Here." She handed him a towel that she was holding behind her back.

Dan laughed and took the towel, wrapping himself in it.

Amy shook her head and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you into some dry clothes."

The two siblings headed back to the house.

* * *

><p>After Dan went to his room to change, Amy wandered into the kitchen. Fiske, Hamilton, Ian, and Jonah were seated around the table, studying a map laid out in front of them.<p>

"What's that?" Amy asked, looking over Jonah's shoulder.

Fiske looked up. "Oh, Amy! Good, you're here. Take a seat."

Amy sat in the empty seat between Hamilton and Ian. She looked at the map. "Isn't this a map of downtown Boston?" she asked. She pointed to one spot on the map. "I recognize the bookstore, right there."

"And that," Fiske said, pointing to another spot on the map, "is the cafe where you will be meeting David Dhine."

Amy looked at her great-uncle in surprise. "You were serious about that?" she exclaimed, "Uncle Fiske, I just took the paper to be nice. I wasn't actually planning on going on a da...I mean, meeting him there."

"Told you," Ian murmured to Hamilton.

Fiske reached across the table and rested his hand on his great-niece's. "My dear, this is a good opportunity. We don't know how much David knows about the Vespers, but you may be able to discover some important information."

Amy looked torn. "I don't know..."

Jonah spoke up. "You know, I used to go on dates with random fans, girls I didn't even know, just for looking good with the press."

Amy furrowed her brow. "Why would you go on a date with someone you didn't know?"

Jonah shrugged. "Who knows? The press ate it up. My point is, I did what had to be done for the better." The Janus boy raised an eyebrow. "And it's not like you're going swimming with sharks or anything."

Amy, Hamilton, and Ian winced.

Jonah frowned. "Sorry," he said. "Bad analogy."

"Well?" Fiske asked Amy.

Amy sighed. "Okay," she said, "I'll do it."

Fiske smiled. "Excellent," he said, turning back to the map, "Now, the cafe is here, so Hamilton can be posted here..."

* * *

><p>"I feel like I'm going to spend the rest of my life in a disguise," Amy mumbled as Natalie adjusted her wig.<p>

"Now," Natalie mused, "shall I curl it?"

Reagan, who was sitting on Amy's bed next to Madison, shook her head. "It's just a casual date–"

"Meeting!"

"Whatever," Madison said. "It's casual. Just put it up in a ponytail or something."

Obligingly, Natalie picked up a scrunchie and hairbrush and pulled the brown wig into a low ponytail.

"There," she said. She studied Amy's outfit, which consisted of a Northface jacket borrowed from Sinead, jeans, and sneakers. "Are you sure you don't want to wear a skirt?" she asked hopefully.

Amy made a face. "Nuh-uh. I'm good."

Natalie shrugged. "Suit yourself. Oh, here." She pulled a small vial out of her pocket and handed it to Amy.

"What is it?" Amy asked, studying the bottle.

"Knockout drug," Natalie said matter-a-factly. "If things get rough, just put two drops into his coffee and he'll be out for several hours."

Amy looked at her in horror. "I'm not going knock him out!" she exclaimed, handing Natalie back the bottle.

Natalie sighed and pocketed the drug again. "Okaaaay..." she said with a "you'll be sorry" tone of voice.

There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Reagan asked.

"Can I come in?" Hamilton's voice came from the other side of the door.

"No!" Madison yelled. "Go away!"

Amy laughed. "Come in, Ham," she said.

Hamilton opened the door and stepped inside. "It's almost three-thirty," he said. "We should get going. Fiske's got the limo out front."

Amy grabbed her purse, which Natalie, Reagan, and Madison had stocked with some "necessities." (Amy regretted not checking the purse to see what the younger girls' definitions of "necessary" was).

"I'm ready," she said. She followed Hamilton out the door, closely followed by Natalie and the twins.

* * *

><p>"But I have to go!" Natalie wailed. "She <em>needs<em> me!"

"We can't bring everyone along," Fiske said.

"Okay," Natalie sighed. She turned to the twins. "Sorry, you two," she said. "You can't come with us."

Fiske shook his head and rubbed his face.

Reagan and Madison grumbled, but didn't argue. Natalie slipped past Fiske an climbed into the back of the limo. "Let's go, Mr. Cahill!" she called. "We mustn't be late for Amy's date!"

"Meeting!" Amy and Ian both exclaimed. They glanced at each other, then quickly looked away.

Fiske climbed into the driver's seat and pulled the limo down the long driveway.

Dan, who was sitting between Hamilton and Jonah, started playing with the button panel on the armrest next to him.

"What does his one do?" he wondered. He pushed it.

The T.V. next to Ian flashed on, making him jump.

"Sorry," Dan said, pressing the button again. The T.V. turned off.

He pressed another button.

"Gah!" Jonah ducked as a snack tray popped out of the wall next to him.

"Sorry," Dan said again, pushing the button again and watching the tray disappear.

"No more buttons," Amy said.

"Aw, but these look cool! Party themes...what's this one?"

Dan pressed the button, and a disco ball popped down from the roof. Loud 80's music blared from hidden speakers.

"Ew!" Natalie wailed. "I _hate _disco themes! Turn it off!"

Dan pressed another button, and the disco ball was replaced by a volleyball net that dropped from the ceiling, almost getting tangled with Hamilton, who ducked just in time. Hawaiian luau music came over the speakers.

"A beach party in February?" Jonah asked. "Yeah, not gonna work."

Dan pushed another button. Pink lights dimly lit the limo. Romantic music played softly.

"Ah," Natalie said. "That's better."

"_No!_" Amy, Ian, Hamilton, and Jonah yelled together. Dan quickly pressed the button again, and the limo returned back to normal.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. "No more buttons," Amy repeated.

Dan nodded sheepishly.

* * *

><p>After thirty minutes went by, Fiske pulled the limo over at the end of a street. He rolled down the divider between the front and back seats. "The cafe is right down the street," he said.<p>

Amy looked wistfully in the other direction. "You know, the bookstore is right down there. Maybe I could just duck in...?"

Fiske laughed as he climbed out of the car. He pulled open the door to the backseat and helped Amy out. "You're late already," he said.

"Besides," Dan added, "with you, there's no such thing as 'just ducking into' a bookstore."

Amy made a face at him as Natalie handed over her purse.

"Here," Jonah said, reaching past Natalie and handing Amy a small microphone and earpiece. "We'll be on comms. We'll also be hanging around."

"Well, I might be at the boutique down the street..."

Dan elbowed Natalie.

"Ow! I mean, yes, we'll be around."

Fiske got back into the car. "Good luck," he said.

"You got this, Amy-O," Hamilton called out the window as the limo pulled away.

It wasn't until she had almost reached the cafe that Ian's voice spoke to her over comms.

"Be careful."

* * *

><p><strong>This isn't gonna be long ((hopefully)), because I have to eat dinner in, like, five minutes.<strong>

**PRESSURE!**

**Okay. One, I'm so sorry for taking this long. My apologies also to anyone who's following CRF and SYB. I'm slowly chipping away at the former and don't want to even look at the latter before I update my next chapter of CRF. XP**

**I'm trying my best!**

**Also, yeah, the beginning of this chapter was kind of a filler. I was going to take it out, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. **

**Response to Reviews:**

**-PinkGoesWithEverything: Ah. It has been so long since you've filled my review box with your ranting. XD Our play is over (sadness). Hope yours went well! And thanks for the compliment! I'll know that if I ever publish a book, the one person who bought it would be you. Lol, I have no self-esteem at the moment XP and that's so unlike me.**

**-MadrigalGryffindor3: I'd like to do some Sinilton, but that will probably come much later on, if so. I'd also like to do some Deagan...but that'll also be later, if so.**

**-AngelLilies: See note about CRF above. I'M SO SORRY! IDK WHY JONAH IS GIVING ME SO MUCH TROUBLE!**

**Jonah: Yo! What's with the hatin'?**

**Me: OMIGOSH IT'S JONAH WIZARD!**

**Jonah: Ha ha. Funny.**

**Me: Shut up.**

**Sorry that I'm not responding to any more reviews, but I'm rushing now. Let it be known that I read every single one of them and appreciate them all! Eight more reviews and we hit 200!**

**One last thing. I GOT A KIND'S RANSOM YESTERDAY! Not gonna spoil anything. But let me just say, my mind was blown. Epically. Let me know if you read it and what you think.**

**One very last thing. Did you guys hear about the Rapid Fire short stories coming out on Christmas to New Years? Oh my gods, they sound awesome. All the Amian fans are probably going wild over the fifth...or fourth...well, if you know what I'm talking about, you know which one I mean. I, personally, screamed my head off ((luckily, no one was home...)).**

**Okay, that's it, dawgs. Hope to update faster next time!**

**...**

**Don't count on it, though...**

**...**

**But I'll try my best!**

**Until Chapter Twenty-Three,**

**-KT**


	23. Chapter 23

**Me: *dials number***

**Dan:** **Ninja Assassins Incorporated, Dan Cahill speaking. Who would you like offed today?**

**Me: Yes, could you possibly arrange the violent and** **painful death of Ian Kabra for being SUCH A FREAKING BRITISH BONEHEAD AND BREAKING HIS OWN FREAKING HEART?**

**Dan: You sound like you need a psychologist, not an assassin.**

**Me: ...could you just do the thing?**

**Dan: Fine. But it's 25 cents a minute.**

**Me: DAN!**

**Dan: Okay, okay! KTRose doesn't own the 39 Clues.**

* * *

><p>Through the large window of the cafe, Amy could see that David was not alone. He was seated at a table with eight other young adults.<p>

Ian's warning still ringing in her ears, Amy pushed open the door.

A little bell rang, and David looked up. A smile split his face as he saw Amy.

A hostess spoke to Amy. "Table for one?" she asked.

Before Amy could speak, David was at her side. "She's with me, Maria," he said to the hostess. He led Amy to the table.

"I'm so glad you showed up," he murmured to her. "I'm happy to see you."

Amy forced a smile as they reached the table. "Everyone," David said to the others at the table, "this is Rebecca Forringer. Rebecca, this is Matt, Joe, Sam, Harris, Becky, Suzi, Allison, and Martha."

The small blond girl David introduced as Suzi spoke up. "So you're the mysterious girl Dave's been talking nonstop about," she said.

"Shut up, Suze," David said, sitting down. He gestured for Amy to sit in the chair next to him, so she did.

The tall, brown-haired boy leaned across the table and spoke to Amy. "I'm Sam," he said, "Sam Conningway."

"Hi," Amy said awkwardly.

Sam raised an eyebrow at David. "She's kind of cute, David. How much did you pay her to show up?"

David punched him in the shoulder.

The red-haired girl leaned over to Amy. "Don't mind them, Rebecca," she said in a loud whisper. "Sam can never get a date anyway. He's just jealous of David."

"Ooo, burrrrn," one of the boys hooted.

"That hurts, Ally," Sam said, clutching his heart, "That stings."

"Aw, man up," said another girl. She smiled at Amy. "I'm Becky. I don't even know why we hang out with these losers."

"Because you love us, and you know it," one of the boys said.

"Sure, Matt, sure," the forth girl said, "And because you always pay for the drinks. Speaking of which..."

The hostess, Maria, appeared at the table. "I think Martha's getting impatient with you boys," the young woman joked. "Don't you know you're supposed to ask the lady what she wants to drink before you do anything else?"

"Sure, but I don't see any ladies," the boy called Matt said.

Suzi punched him on the arm.

"I apologize, Rebecca," Matt added. "There is one lady here. Would you like something to drink?"

Amy laughed a little at their antics. "Just some water, please," she said.

The others placed their orders, and Maria left.

Amy listened to the others chatter on for a while, and when the busboy brought their drinks, she quietly sipped her water.

"So, Rebecca," Matt said. "Do you live around here?"

Amy shook her head. "About a half an hour away," she said.

"Are you in college?" Becky asked.

Nellie had helped her with her cover story earlier, and she nodded. "I'm at BU."

"Oh?" Martha asked. "So am I! What's your major?"

Amy paused. What was her major?

A voice in her ear gave her the answer. "Political science," Jonah directed.

"Political science," Amy repeated, relieved.

"Wow," Sam said. "You want to be president or something?"

Amy shook her head. "No, I couldn't be the president," she said.

Sam shrugged. "Too bad," he said. "You would've been the prettiest president we've ever had."

David elbowed him. "Don't be like that, man. She's my date."

Amy bit her lip to stop from screaming, "Meeting!" like she had gotten used to. Although, it was hard to consider this get-together a "meeting".

"Aw, c'mon, man," Sam said, getting up and squeezing in between David and Amy. "It's a free country." He put an arm around Amy's shoulder.

Suddenly, there was a dark brown stain on Sam's shoulder. The busboy stood behind them, looking ashamed. "I am so sorry, sir!" he said with a thick Spanish accent. "I will get you some towels!" The busboy disappeared through the back of the cafe, and, much to Amy's relief, Sam went back to his original seat. Allison grabbed some napkins and patted at the coffee stain on his shirt.

"Serves you right," David muttered, standing up. "Rebecca, you want to get out of here?"

Amy nodded and stood up.

"Maybe we'll see you guys later," David said.

"It was nice meeting you," Amy called over her shoulder as David led her out the door.

* * *

><p>The busboy returned to the table, paper towels in his hand. He looked around. "Where did the other boy and girl go?" he asked.<p>

"Oh, Rebecca and David?" Suzi asked. "They just left."

The busboy's jade-green eyes widened, and he dashed out the back of the cafe.

* * *

><p>Amy and David walked down the street in silence. "I'm really sorry about that," he said. "My friends...they mean well. They're really a great bunch of kids."<p>

Amy smiled and nodded. "I understand."

"So," David said conversationally as they crossed the street and entered a little park, "you're at BU? That's cool. So am I."

"You are?" Amy asked, amazed.

"I know," David said. "My parents wanted me to go to an Ivy League, but..." He trailed off. "I like BU," he said after a pause. "My classes are challenging, in a good way. I'm really enjoying my French class." He looked over at Amy. "Do you take a language?"

Amy thought about how she stopped after her tenth grade French class, and nodded. "I take French too," she said.

"Really? That's great!" David grinned. He spoke in French, "Isn't today a lovely day?"

Amy had absolutely no idea what he had said. "Um..."

She was just considering faking a stomach ache when a voice spoke in her ear again. "It's beautiful out," Ian said in fluent French.

Amy, surprised that Ian spoke French, repeated what he said.

David grinned wider, obviously thinking that Amy knew more French than she did.

"Are you having a good time so far?" he asked in French.

Ian, sounding a bit strained, said, "Yes. I am having a good time."

Amy repeated it, and David looked like his grin was going to split his face. They stopped in the shadow of a tall oak tree.

"Do you like me?" David asked in French.

Ian was silent. Amy panicked, wondering what David had said. She finally decided to risk it, and said, "Oui."

David looked at her for a moment, then tilted his head down and kissed her on the lips.

Amy, caught by surprise, didn't do anything for a moment. Then she pulled back. "Wait, David..."

"What?" David asked. "You just said you liked me. I just had to kiss you."

Through the earpiece, Amy could hear Ian's voice, muffled, exclaiming some choice words. She heard Hamilton's voice say something, and the line was silent.

"I...I mean..." Amy stumbled for words.

Before she could say anything else, David kissed her again. She froze, not knowing what to do. This wasn't right, she knew. It just didn't feel right. She didn't know what she meant by that, but it just wasn't.

Suddenly, she heard a voice call, "Rebecca! REBECCA!"

David pulled back. "Who's that?" he asked.

Before she could reply, Ian and Hamilton appeared from behind a clump of trees.

"Rebecca!" Ian said, walking over. "I've been looking all over for you. We need to get back home."

David turned to Amy. "Who's this?" he asked, looking Ian up and down suspiciously.

Amy looked at the two boys, who were glaring at each other. "This is my, um, brother, Liam. Liam, this is David."

David raised an eyebrow. "Your brother? How come he has an accent?"

Amy winced. Man, he was sharp.

Ian spoke. "I've been in England for three years," he said. "I picked up the accent there."

"And him?" David asked, nodding at Hamilton, who's crossed arms and large bulk made him look like some sort of bodyguard.

"My...other brother," Amy ad-libbed. "Um, Emmet."

David narrowed his eyes, but looked somewhat convinced.

Amy let out a sigh of relief. Ian took her arm. "Come on, let's go," he said.

"Wait!" David pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Amy. "This is my cell number," he said. "Can you call me tonight?"

Hamilton snatched the piece of paper out of David's hand and stuffed it into his pocket, still glaring at David. Amy felt a bit sorry for the latter.

"Sure, I'll try," she said to David. She let Ian pull her away. Hamilton followed close behind.

Once out of sight from David, Ian dropped her arm. Amy looked up at him. "Ian...?"

"Come on," he said, "Everyone's waiting in the limo."

The three of them walked out of the park without another word.

* * *

><p>The limo ride home was spent in silence. Dan didn't even play with the buttons. Amy sat in one corner, deep in thought. She had taken off the wig and latex makeup, and leaned against the tinted window, watching the scenery race by.<p>

At the other end of the limo, Ian sat moodily in his seat, tapping his fingers on his leg and staring out the window.

Every once in awhile, Hamilton or Jonah would clear his throat like he was about to say something, then stopped before he started. Fiske and Natalie both had the good sense not to say anything.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached the mansion. Amy was the first one out of the limo. She dashed up the steps and through the front door. She ran past Nellie, who was left dazedly wondering what had just happened.

The others entered the house. Natalie went after Amy, and the four boys went into the kitchen.

Fiske gave Nellie the details, and then went to his room to rest before dinner.

* * *

><p>Amy looked up from where she was curled up in the armchair at the back of the library. Natalie walked over and sat in the chair next to her.<p>

"David kissed you?" she asked softly.

Amy nodded miserably.

"And you didn't want him to?"

Amy sighed, and looked like she was about to collapse into tears.

"No. I mean, I guess not. I mean, I don't NOT like him. I mean, I like him. I mean, I don't LIKE him. I mean...oh, I don't know what I mean!"

She buried her face into her arms.

Natalie waited.

Amy finally looked up again. "He's nice," she said softly. "But I didn't want it to be like that. It just didn't feel right."

"Did he ask to see you again?" Natalie asked.

Amy pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket. Hamilton had given it to her when they had reached the limo. "He gave me his cell number and asked me to call him tonight," she said.

Natalie took the paper and looked at it. She looked up. "Fiske's going to want you to call him," she said.

"I know," Amy moaned.

Natalie was quiet for a moment. "What about my brother?"

Amy was silent, which seemed to answer Natalie's question for her.

"Ah," the younger girl said knowingly.

"I didn't even say anything!" Amy protested.

"Your eyes spoke for you," Natalie responded promptly.

Amy buried her head in her arms again. "What am I going to do?" her muffled voice asked.

"Well," Natalie said thoughtfully, "for starters, I would talk to Ian."

* * *

><p>"It's just so...ew. I can't imagine my sister kissing anybody." Dan twirled a pencil he had found on the kitchen table.<p>

Hamilton raised an eyebrow. "What, you expected her to stay fourteen forever?" he asked, "People grow up, dude. Soon you'll be kissing girls..."

"ACK! HAM!"

Hamilton grinned. "Don't think that the older brother is out of the loop. I know about..."

"Don't! Don't say another word!" Dan cried. "Change the subject, Jonah, quick!"

Jonah laughed. "Sure," he said. He turned to Ian. "Did David ask Amy to meet him again or something?"

Hamilton and Dan turned to the forth boy, who had been silent this whole time.

Ian looked up. "He gave Amy his mobile number," he said softly. "Hamilton took the paper. She said...she said she'd call tonight."

He stood up. "I'm going for a walk," he said, and left the kitchen.

Dan looked at the older boys. "What's eating him?" he asked.

Jonah raised an eyebrow. "Love," he said.

Dan furrowed his brow. "What? What do you mean? Ian..." His eyes widened. "Whoa! No way! He doesn't...?"

Hamilton knocked Dan's skull. "Wake up, little buddy," he said. "You're missing too much."

Dan groaned. "This is too weird!" he moaned, putting his head on the table.

"Well, get used to it," Jonah said. "'Cause there's gonna be a whole lot more weird now that the Cahills are together."

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, I just realized that this chapter is totally Amian. Not that I don't like Amian, but this story definitely has a lot more than<strong> **just that.**

**Okay, so it's been, like two weeks. Not bad, right?**

**Response to Reviews****:**

**-VampyrycPineapple****: Yeah, I agree. It might be moving a bit fast.** **I'm not really sure what I can do about it at this point, because I already have a lot of this written, but I really do appreciate your opinion.**

**-ashleybett: Well, I just got a Kindle for Hannukah, so that's how I got the Rapid Fire stories. I think you can get them on your computer, but I'm not sure how. Sorry, this is sucky advice XP**

**-Hello: Be patient, young grasshopper. That's one of the few parts I actually remember to** **write about.**

**-StuckInSpace:** **I have started to like the Sinilton pairing, but when I started writing this, I wasn't even thinking about it. So, maybe, but probably not until later on.**

**-RainbowFallsMoonshineDapples: Wish granted. A whole chapter that's basically Amian ((sort of...)).** **And I am waiting for the day when Evan does something wrong so I can hate him properly with a good reason for doing so.**

**There were so many other great reviews, but I don't have time to respond to all of them. Thank you all who reviewed! ((Also, thank you all who favorited/alerted this story, even if you did not review...yes, I know who you are...*squinty eyes*))**

**Alrighty then. A little status update to those following my other stories.** **I realized that I wasn't going to be updating CRF anytime soon, due to my writer's block, so I wrote a new chapter for SYB. Hopefully I'll get that up today, otherwise it should be up soon. For those of you reading CRF, HEEEEELLLLLLPPPP! I keep writing, then deleting, then re-writing, the re-deleting! I don't want this chapter to be just like the others! It'll get repetitive and boring! It's about Jonah, so any ideas you have, pleeeeeaaaase post them in the review box for CRF! KTRose needs YOU!**

**On an entirely unrelated note, last week I wrote a parody for "One Day More" from Les Mis ((those of you who know it, kudos for you!)) for the 39 Clues. The only problem is, IT HAS TOO MANY HARMONIES TO SING MY MYSELF! Grr...**

**Okay, I think that's it. Peace out, yo.**

**-KTRose P.S Almost forgot! Rapid Fire readers, check out my one-shot, "What Happened at Midnight"!**


	24. Chapter 24

The Starlings and the Holt twins were at the high school football game, following up on the message that Amy and Ian had discovered on Mr. Dhine's computer.

Sinead couldn't hear what Madison was yelling over the screaming crowd. "What?"

"I SAID," Madison yelled, "WHAT TIME IS IT?"

Sinead checked her cell phone. "Ten minutes to eight!" she said.

"WHAT?"

Sinead sighed, then showed Madison the phone.

"OH," Madison said loudly. "SHOULDN'T WE BE HEADING UNDER THE BLEACHERS NOW?"

Sinead flinched as the crowd roared again. Next to her, Reagan jumped up.

"Touchdown!" she cried, pumping her fist into the air. She stopped when she realized that Madison, Sinead, Ted, and Ned were all staring her.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Is it time to go yet?"

Sinead nodded. The five of them made their way through the crowded bleachers to the ground.

They walked along the bottom of the bleachers until they reached the end. Sinead turned to her brothers. "Stand guard," she said. "If we're not out in ten minutes, come in after us."

Her brothers nodded, and leaned against the chain link fence to wait.

Sinead and the twins crept under the bleachers.

* * *

><p>"Got a five?"<p>

"Go fish."

"Got a two?"

"Go fish."

"Got a life?" Natalie muttered, watching Dan, Hamilton, and Jonah play a half-hearted game of cards.

"Go fish," the three boys said wearily.

Fiske walked into the room. "How is everyone?" he asked.

"Bored," the four of them said.

"Uncle Fiske?" Dan asked. "What do agents do when they don't have any missions to go on?"

Fiske thought for a moment. "Well, most agents I know play Go Fish in their free time," he said seriously, his eyes twinkling.

The four teenagers groaned.

"But," he added, "I also know many agents who enjoy going out for ice cream."

Dan whooped and jumped up. "Let's go!" he cheered, running out of the room.

Fiske laughed. "I'll get the keys to the SUV," he said, leaving the room.

Natalie crossed her arms. "But it's almost suppertime!" she said.

Jonah punched her lightly on the shoulder as he and Hamilton eagerly stood up from the table. "C'mon cuz, live a little! Don't tell me you don't want ice cream!"

Natalie wavered. "Well..."

"Great," Hamilton said. "Let's go."

The three kids ran after Dan.

* * *

><p>If possible, the crowd was even louder from beneath the bleachers. The fans stomped their feet on the metal floors, creating a horrible banging thrum that made Sinead grateful she had left Ned outside, in case the banging made his headaches come back.<p>

It was a miracle that her brother's surgery plan had worked. Although Ned still had the occasional migraine, and Ted had to wear glasses, they were so much better than they were after the explosion at the Franklin Institute.

She still had the scars, though.

As she and the twins crept under the bleachers, she rubbed her arm anxiously and felt the familiar bumps of the scars.

"See anything?" she whispered to Madison, who had on the night-vision goggles. It wasn't very dark yet, although the sun was setting. Beneath the bleachers, though, everything was in shadows.

Madison shook her head. "Nothing yet."

They kept walking.

* * *

><p>Fiske pulled into the parking lot outside of Dairy Queen. Dan scrambled out. "Cherry Garcia, here I come!" he whooped, running inside. The other followed him, laughing.<p>

They all sat at a table by the window. Dan had Cherry Garcia, Natalie had Mint Chocolate Chip, Jonah had Berry Crunch, Hamilton had Rocky Road, and Fiske had Coffee.

Dan wrinkled his nose. "What is it with grown-ups and Coffee ice cream?" he asked.

Fiske took a large spoonful of his and grinned. "What is it with teenagers and Cherry Garcia?"

"Hey, he's the one with Cherry Garcia, not us," Hamilton protested.

Dan looked at his empty bowl mournfully. "I HAD Cherry Garcia," he sighed. He looked longingly at Natalie's bowl.

"Hey, Nat," he said. "You're not going to finish that, are you?"

Natalie slid her bowl away from him. "Yes. Yes I am."

"But," Dan protested, "isn't there some girly thing about not eating too much ice cream so they'll stay skinny?"

"If you say so," Natalie said, taking another bite.

"So..." Dan persisted, "you don't want to finish that, do you?"

"I already said I did!" Natalie exclaimed.

Dan gave her puppy eyes.

"_No._"

"Pleeaase?"

"Why aren't you asking Jonah or Hamilton for their ice cream?"

"Because I don't like Berry Crunch, and Hamilton would take tap dance lessons before he would share his ice cream with me."

Hamilton laughed. "True dat," Jonah said.

Natalie sighed. "Fine," she said, pushing her bowl over, "but stay on _your_side of the bowl. I don't want any of your peasant germs on my ice cream."

Dan happily scooped out some of her ice cream and licked the spoon clean. He glanced out the window and nearly choked.

"No," he muttered. "No no no no no!"

He jumped up. "Everyone, in the back, NOW!"

Without any questions, Fiske and the three other teenagers raced after Dan to the back of the shop.

They stood out of sight from the window.

"Dude, what happened?" Jonah asked.

Dan clutched his chest, feeling it tighten up. Hamilton saw him struggling and put a hand on his shoulder. "Breathe," he said. "Breathe."

Natalie and Fiske watched him anxiously.

Dan finally caught his breath. "It's...it's her."

"Who?" Fiske asked gently. "Who did you see?"

"Isabel," he gasped. "Isabel Kabra."

Natalie fainted.

"I see someone!" Madison hissed. The three girls immediately ducked down.

"Is it Mr. Dhine?" Sinead whispered.

Madison shrugged. "Dunno," she said, "I've never seen him."

"Eh, me either," Sinead said, "Hold on." She got out her cell phone and dialed Hamilton's number.

* * *

><p>Jonah caught Natalie before she hit the floor. Hamilton stood in shock, and Fiske's face was masked. "I feared this," the old Madrigal murmured.<p>

Dan, who had started hyperventilating, looked at his great-uncle. "You...you knew this would happen?" he squeaked. "She's supposed to be in _jail_! We would know if she wasn't in jail!"

He looked around. "Wouldn't we?"

"I-I don't know," Hamilton stammered. Suddenly, his cell phone chirped. He flipped it open.

"Sinead? Where are you?...Oh, right, okay...What?...Um, grayish-brown hair, short, sort of pudgy...that's him?...Okay...look, I don't know...No...I said I don't know!...No, I'm not mad at you, it's just, well, Dan just saw Isabel Kabra...hello?" Hamilton pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment, then brought it back. "Sinead? Hello?...Oh, Reagan, good. What happened?...Is she okay?...No, I just told her that Dan just saw Isabel Kabra in the parking lot...No, it wasn't a joke, he actually saw her...hello? Hello? Madison? What happened to Reagan?...Oh, her too?...I don't know if I should tell you, after the two of them freaked...Okay, okay, jeez, you don't have to threaten me...Dan just saw Isabel Kabra...yeah...yeah...sure."

Hamilton held his phone out to Dan. "She wants to talk to you," he said.

Dan took the cell phone.

"Madison?...No, I swear, it was her...orange jumpsuit? Um, no, I think I would've noticed that...I don't know...I know...we will...what? Oh, okay, put her on." He waited. "Reagan? Are you okay?...We're fine, so far...no, I don't think she saw us...well, I don't think she's here for ice cream...okay...okay..." He paused. "Be careful," he said, then hung up.

He closed the phone and handed it to Hamilton. "We have to get out of here," he said to Hamilton and Fiske.

Fiske nodded. "I'll be right back," he said, disappearing out the back door.

"Yo, Nat's out cold," Jonah said from the floor. Natalie's head rested on his leg, and her face was pale.

Dan bent over Natalie. "Nat, wake up," he said. She didn't move.

Dan went to the bathroom and filled a small plastic cup with water. He came back and splashed it into Natalie's face.

Natalie sat bolt upright, her face dripping wet. "Ah! Why am I wet?"

Dan quickly put the plastic cup into Hamilton's hands and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Natalie suddenly remembered why she had fainted, and she paled. "Is she really...?" she asked weakly.

Dan nodded, and Jonah put his arms on her shoulders as she began to wobble a bit.

Fiske appeared again. "I brought the SUV around back," he said "Let's go."

Jonah and Dan stood up, but Natalie stayed down, trembling.

Hamilton bent down, picked her up gently, and carried her out the door. Natalie was so much in shock that she didn't even seem to notice she was being carried.

Fiske got into the driver's seat, and Jonah climbed into the passenger seat. Dan got into the backseat and helped Hamilton get Natalie into the car. Then Hamilton got in.

Fiske drove around to the front of the Dairy Queen. "Everyone, duck down," he ordered as he pulled around to the front.

Jonah slid down in the passenger seat, and Hamilton and Dan both ducked. Natalie was already lying down on the backseat, out of view from the windows.

Fiske pulled a pair of sunglasses over his eyes as the SUV drove around the building.

"There she is," he murmured.

Natalie whimpered.

Isabel was standing in the parking lot of the shopping center by a dark car with tinted windows. She was talking on a cell phone, gesturing with her hands. She looked like any average upper-class business woman, not a murderer and escapee from federal prison.

Fiske drove out of the parking lot and pulled onto the highway. The three boys sat up and breathed out in relief.

"She was supposed to be in jail her whole life," Jonah muttered. "But..."

"...she's scary that way," Natalie and Dan finished.

* * *

><p>Amy had gone to the kitchen to make a sandwich, and as she walked back out, she nearly ran into Ian.<p>

"Sorry," they both said at the same time. They laughed awkwardly, and looked away from each other.

Ian was the first to speak. "Look, Amy..."

"Yes?"

"I...I just wanted to say, about today...I..."

He was cut off as the front door slammed open, and Hamilton ran inside, carrying a pale-faced Natalie in his arms.

"Natalie!" Ian dashed to his sister as Amy ran off to get a blanket. "What happened to her?"

Dan shakily entered the mansion, Jonah and Fiske right behind him.

Amy came back with a blanket and handed it to Ian, who took his sister from Hamilton and wrapped her in it. Amy went to her brother, who had leaned against the wall and sunk to the floor. "Dan? What happened? Are you okay?"

Dan shook his head. "No," he said. "It's...she's..."

Ian looked up. "Daniel," he said, his face etched with worry, "stop blabbering and tell us _what happened_."

"It's Isabel," Dan said. "We saw her. She's out of jail."

Amy's hands went to her mouth. Ian's face blanched.

"No," Amy murmured. "N-no. S-she c-can't b-be..."

Amy couldn't talk. She felt her legs go rubbery, and she dropped down next to her brother.

"Where?" she asked. "Who...she...how?"

Dan quickly told her what had happened.

"I can't believe it," Ian murmured.

"Isabel Kabra is on the loose," Hamilton summarized grimly.

* * *

><p>"He's just twenty feet away. And he's alone."<p>

Madison stared through the darkness at the shadowy figure that was Mr. Dhine.

"Come on," Sinead murmured. "Where's his contact?"

Madison suddenly gasped. "I see someone!" she whispered excitedly. "Coming at him in the other direction...okay, now Dhine is turning...he's waving him over..._whoa_."

She stopped, staring open-mouthed.

"What?" Sinead and Reagan asked.

Madison took off the goggles and handed them to Sinead. "Take a look."

Sinead slipped the goggles on and looked. Even with the goggles the figures were a bit shadowy. But she could see the short, portly man who was Mr. Dhine, and the other..._whoa_.

Sinead whistled quietly. "He's hot!" she whispered.

"Gimme those!" Reagan took the goggles from her older cousin and put them on. "_Whoa._ I don't really care about stuff like that, but..._whoa_."

Madison furrowed her brow. "It doesn't make sense," she said. "I mean, how could someone like Mr. Dhine put confidence in someone as young–"

"–and hot," Sinead added.

"–as that guy?" Madison finished.

Reagan shrugged. "Maybe he's not the guy Dhine was expecting," she said. But as she looked through the goggles again, and saw Mr. Dhine shaking hands with the young man, she knew that it wasn't true. This guy was definitely who Mr. Dhine was expecting.

* * *

><p>They all sat around the kitchen table, hot chocolate mugs clasped between hands. Amy and Natalie had blankets over their shoulders, for they had been shaking too much to be healthy.<p>

Nellie stormed around the kitchen in a blind rage. "What is _wrong _with our judicial system these days?" she cried, pulling out more pots an pans than she needed to make dinner and banging them on counters. "When someone gets put into jail for life, doesn't that mean, oh, I don't know, they get put INTO JAIL FOR LIFE?"

Fiske spoke up. "I'm afraid Isabel may have more influence over our judicial system than we feared, my dear," he said wearily.

"You knew she had _some _influence over the judicial system already?" Dan asked.

Fiske sighed. "That is the way the Lucians work, dear boy," he said. "They make alliances, then use them for their own gain."

Natalie shifted uncomfortably, and Ian's head drooped.

Hamilton suddenly banged his hand on the table, making everyone jump. "So there's nothing we can do?" he asked. "We can't call the police, Isabel probably has influence over them, we can't call the FBI, Isabel probably has influence over them, we can't call SWAT..."

"Now, SWAT I definitely know she has influence over," Fiske said.

Hamilton groaned.

Amy spoke up—or, tried to. "W-w-what are w-we g-going t-t-to d-do then?" she stammered quietly. Dan suddenly hated Isabel Kabra twice as much for making his sister like this. Amy never stammered this badly, even before the clue hunt, especially around people she knew.

Fiske sighed. "Well, I'll make some phone calls," he said. "Get out an alert that she's out of jail. Perhaps one of the branches can capture her."

"But what about the Lucians?" Jonah asked. "Will they be against Isabel, or work with her?"

Fiske spoke immediately. "Against her, I'm sure," he said.

Natalie spoke up weakly. "But what about father?" she asked.

Fiske looked at her. "You don't know?" he asked.

"Know what?" Ian asked.

Fiske looked at the two of them. "After Isabel was arrested, Vikram Kabra immediately filed for a divorce."

"A _divorce?_" Natalie gasped.

Fiske nodded. "Now, we're still not sure whether your father knew anything about...about..."

"The fire," Dan and Amy said softly together.

Fiske nodded sadly. "Yes. But either way, I think we can he pretty sure that Vikram is on our side when it comes to Isabel Kabra."

"She's not Isabel Kabra anymore," Amy said.

Fiske's face grew grave. "And that is what I needed to tell you all," he said. "I thought it wouldn't matter, as long as she was locked up."

"What?" Hamilton asked.

Fiske sighed. "Before she was Isabel Kabra," he said, "She was Isabel _Vesper_-Hollingsworth."

Natalie fainted again.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay. I'm tired, I have midterms that I need to study for, so I'm gonna try to make this a quick Author's Note.<strong>

**A. Yay! Update!**

**B. Originally, this chapter held another one of my first Amian kiss****es in this story, and, in my attempt to suspend that kiss for as long as possible, I took it out. Bwa-ha-ha-ha and all that.**

**C. As I've probably said before, yeah, Vikram Kabra is still head of the Lucians. Apparently, though, he isn't as evil as Isabel ((although, in actuality, I think he's Vesper 1)). **

**D. Response to Reviews:**

**-IronShadow007: I...never...said...I...hated...Amian...HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK THAT? *did I get carried away with the Caps Lock thing, too?* XD**

**-Stone Moss: *eyes wallet* I updated in under a month...is that in terms with our agreement?**

**-Hiker Writer: The busboy was Dan. And here's the football game!**

**-Tribal Girl: If anyone wants to see David ((holy Zeus I legit just wrote Evan and was like, "BACKSPACE!")) and Amy's conversation from the last chapter in French, check out Tribal Girl's review. I don't pay enough attention in French class...-.-  
>AND THAT WAS SO TOTALLY NOT A TWILIGHT REFERENCE! IT WAS A LEGALLY BLOND REFERENCE BECAUSE EMMET FOREST IS CURRENTLY MY FAVORITE BROADWAY SHOW MALE LEAD CHARACTER! XD<strong>

**-PinkGoesWithEverything: Your reviews always make me smile, ya know that?**

**Thanks everyone who reviewed!**

**E. I have a new chapter for SYB, but I probably won't be able to publish tonight due to the fact that I have history and theatre workshop midterms to study for that are tomorrow. But hopefully that will be soon.**

**F. I think that's it! Oh, and please review! I get, like, a bunch of emails saying that people favorited my stories and have alerts on them, but they don't review. I know who you are...and I WILL start naming names...**

**Just kidding But really, even a one-liner is fine. As much as I love detailed reviews ((*cough*PinkGoesWithEverything, Tribal Girl, Hiker Writer, and Stone Moss*cough*)), anything is good. You can even just review with a quote you liked! All you have to do then is copy and paste!**

**G. Okay, I REALLY need to start studying now. Good luck to anyone who has midterms! When in doubt, answer "C"!**

**Until Chapter 25,**

**-KT**

**P.S. Ugh. This was longer than I hoped for. AGH! I'M JUST MAKING IT LONGER! STOP! STOP! STO–  
><strong>


	25. Chapter 25

**KTROSE RECORD: FASTEST UPDATE TIME _EVER_.**

**Lately, at least.**

* * *

><p>"Can you hear what they're saying?" Reagan whispered.<p>

"Sh!" Madison hissed. "I'm trying."

"I don't think you have to worry about them hearing you," Sinead said, listening to the roar of the crowd.

"Dang it!" Reagan exclaimed. "That must've been why they planned to meet here! No one could overhear unless they're close enough to be detected."

"A strategy worthy of Lucians," Madison mumbled. "I _hate_ it when the enemy is smart."

Suddenly, the old and young men shook hands again and stepped apart. Sinead and the twins ducked into the shadows.

Sinead made a split-second decision. "You two follow Mr. Dhine," she said. "See if he goes anywhere else before leaving. I'll follow the other guy."

So they split up—the twins following Dhine, Sinead following the younger guy.

* * *

><p>Amy sat, curled up, in her window seat, staring out into the darkness. Isabel? Out of jail? It was too much to handle.<p>

A soft knock came at the door. "Come in," she said.

Dan opened the door and stepped inside, looking at his sister. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"No," Amy replied. "You?"

He crossed the room and sat down next to her. "No."

They sat in silence for a minute, both thinking about all of the things Isabel had done to them.

"What do you think she's going to do?" Amy asked.

Dan sighed. "I don't know," he said, remembering what his great-uncle had said earlier.

* * *

><p><em>"Isabel's father had been a Lucian, and her mother a Vesper, but her father left the Cahills before she was born," Fiske had said. "When she married Vikram Kabra, she left the Vespers, knowing that the Lucians were a far more powerful group. She never..." At this he glanced at Ian and Natalie, "...told anyone but her husband about her mother's side of the family."<em>

* * *

><p>Amy spoke, breaking Dan out of his train of thought. "Fiske thinks she will go to the V-vespers," she said. "I c-could tell. She m-may have already..." She trailed off, starting to tremble again.<p>

There was another knock on the door. "Come in," Amy said, trying to make her voice normal.

Fiske entered the room. "I just got a call," he said, looking at his great-niece and nephew, "from the Tomas stronghold in South Africa."

"We've been there," Dan said.

Fiske nodded. "They've noticed a lot more Vesper activity in the area recently," he said.

"How do they know?" Amy asked.

"Well, they don't know for sure," Fiske admitted, "but there's been a huge surge of fires and mysterious murders in the area, just this week. Several agents have gone missing. Now that the branches are at peace, there's only one other group that could be doing this."

"Vespers," Dan and Amy said together.

Fiske nodded gravely.

"So what are they going to do?" Dan asked. "I mean, what can they do?"

Fiske smiled. "Do you feel up to a little traveling?" he asked.

* * *

><p>"Hurry up, we're losing him!" Madison cried, pulling her sister with her through the cheering crowd.<p>

"Hey, watch it!" Reagan said to a man who accidentally elbowed her in the head. The man didn't seem to notice her.

"Come on!" Madison said anxiously, slipping between two fourteen-year-old boys with their faces painted blue and white.

Reagan was right behind her, when one of the boys grabbed her arm. "Hey, Reagan!" he said.

Reagan turned. It was Troy "once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity" Jackson.

Reagan jerked her arm free. "Hi. Bye." She turned to follow Madison, who had turned to see where Reagan was.

"Wait." Another boy appeared, blocking her path. Troy yanked her around. "I didn't like it how you treated me the other day," he said.

"There's more where that came from, jerk," Reagan spit. She knew she could take him down easily, and his cronies too, but she didn't want to attract too much attention.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Madison holding something up, but Reagan didn't dare turn her head away in case Troy took the chance to...to...

Wait. What could _Troy Jackson_ do to _her?_

Troy grinned. "You're a feisty one," he said. "You sure you don't want to hook up?"

Reagan smiled sweetly. "Sure," she said. "I'll go find a hook, and then you can hang on it by your shirt collar."

"Buuuuurn," Madison hooted.

Troy raised an eyebrow, his confidant smile wavering. "Last chance," he said. "Remember, this is..."

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Reagan mimicked. "Yeah, I know. But for something that's so rare, why does it seem to keep happening to me?"

"You must be a lucky girl."

Reagan took a step forward too. "You know," she said. "You're kind of cute."

"I know," Troy said, grinning. "It's about time you noticed."

Reagan smiled at him. "Close your eyes," she said. "I want to give you something."

Troy smiled knowingly and closed his eyes, puckering up.

Reagan made a fist and punched him square in the nose.

"Whoo-hoo!" Madison whooped, laughing.

Troy stumbled back, clutching his nose. "Ow!" he cried.

Reagan rolled her eyes. "That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she said to him. "And if you're a lucky guy, you can get it again."

Troy staggered to his feet and glared at her, hands over his nose.

"You little..." he growled. "What's your problem?"

"Don't you get it? _I don't like you!_"

"'Cause I'm not a nerdy math geek who thinks he's a ninja?" Troy sneered.

A wave of fresh anger washed over Reagan, and she punched him in the stomach, making him double over.

"I told you never to insult Dan in front of me!" she yelled.

Troy's hands went to his stomach, leaving his face unguarded.

"Aw," he gasped, trying to keep his cool while gasping for breath. "You protecting your boyfriend?"

She knelt on his chest and put her face right by his.

"If you know what's good for you, you'd better stop talking," she said coldly.

Troy shut up.

She stood up and glared at the boys blocking her path. They quickly moved out of the way.

"Thank you, boys," Reagan said, walking past them. She turned around and looked down at Troy. "You may want to get him some ice," she said to the other boys. Then she walked away.

Madison caught up to her. "Nice," she said to her twin. "That was beautiful, sis."

"He's a jerk," Reagan muttered, storming angrily through the crowd.

Madison had to jog to keep up with her sister's rampaging pace. "Sure, he deserved it," she said. "For dissing Dan and all. No one insults our cousin and gets away with it...right?"

She glanced at her twin, who remained silent. "Reagan..."

"What?"

"Why _did_ you get so mad when Jackson dissed Dan?"

Reagan tried to give a light-hearted laugh, but she knew it sounded forced. "Like you said, Madi, no one insults our cousin and gets away with it."

She started to duck under a woman's handbag, but Madison grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the fence.

Madison stared at her. "That's not it, is it?" she asked.

Reagan opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again. She shook her head silently.

"Right," Madison said. "Well, I'd love to talk more about it now, but we need to stay on Mr. Dhine's trail." She started towards the crowd again. "Remind me to bring it up later."

Reagan rolled he eyes and followed her twin. "Yeah, right," she muttered. "Like I would."

* * *

><p>Ned and Ted paced anxiously by the limousine. After emerging from the bleachers, Sinead had told her brothers to wait by the limo. She said she would only be fifteen minutes, at most.<p>

That was twenty-five minutes ago.

Suddenly, Ned spotted Madison and Reagan running across the parking lot. The twins reached the limo.

"We followed Dhine," Reagan said, "all the way to his car."

"He didn't talk to anyone," Madison added. "And we didn't see him slip any noted to anyone, although it's possible he could've done either while Reagan was beating up Jackson."

"You _what?_" Ted exclaimed.

"Never mind," Reagan muttered, scuffing the toe of her shoe in the dirt.

Suddenly, Ned's phone buzzed. He flipped it open. "Hello?...Where are you? It's been almost a half-hour...Oh, okay...sure...yeah...okay, bye." He closed the phone. "Sinead's waiting by the main entrance," he said, climbing into the driver's seat. "Everyone pile in."

The twins climbed into the backseat, and the two brothers got into the front seat, with Ned at the wheel. They drove across the parking lot to the front entrance.

Sinead was sitting under a large sign announcing the high school's drama play. She looked up, saw the limo, and stuck out her thumb like a hitchhiker.

Ned rolled down the window. "Need a lift?" he asked.

Sinead climbed into the back and closed the door behind her. She let out a sigh and stretched out across three seats. Ned started the car and pulled onto the highway.

The twins looked at her. "Well?" Madison asked.

Sinead looked at them. "Well...what?"

Madison let out a frustrated sigh. "What happened?"

"Oh." Sinead pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I got his cell number."

"He gave you his cell phone number?" Reagan exclaimed. "How did you pull _that_ off?"

"I didn't say he _gave_ it to me," Sinead said. "He was watching the game for a minute, so I stole his phone from his pocket and called my number. _Voilá!_ His number was in my phone. I just wrote it down on paper to give to Fiske."

"Just wait and see if he notices your number when he gets his phone bill..." Madison muttered.

* * *

><p>Amy heard a car pull up in front of the house and looked out the window. The limo was parked next to the SUV, and the twins and triplets were getting out.<p>

"They're home!" Amy yelled for the others' benefit. She suddenly realized what she had said. Home.

They were home.

She abandoned her open suitcase on her bed and ran out the door. She bumped into Hamilton, who had just burst out of his room.

Hamilton put his hands on his Amy's shoulders to steady her. "They're back?" he asked. Amy nodded.

"Good," he said, walking down the hall with her. "I need to ask them who won the football game."

"I doubt they were paying attention to the game," Amy said as the descended the steps.

In the front hall, Sinead was already talking to Fiske. Reagan and Madison were arguing about something.

"Delete it!" Reagan cried.

"But–" Madison protested.

"I don't care! Delete it!" Reagan tried to grab Madison's cell phone, but Madison ducked out of her reach and ran up the stairs. Amy thought Reagan would chase after her sister, but she just slumped against the wall.

"...so we split up," Sinead was telling Fiske. She looked at Reagan. "The twins told me that Dhine went straight to his car and drove away. We don't believe anything material was exchanged, unless it was small enough to fit into his pocket."

Fiske nodded thoughtfully. "It may have been an exchange of information, however," he said.

"That's what I said," Reagan and Sinead said together.

Fiske rubbed his hands together. "Well, we will certainly try to track the cell phone number and discover who this mysterious contact is. Meanwhile, Reagan, you need to go to your room and pack. Tell your sister to do the same."

"Pack?" Reagan asked. "Where are we going?"

Amy and Hamilton grinned. "We're going to a Tomas stronghold," Hamilton said, ruffling his sister's hair. "In South Africa."

Amy quickly filled her in on what Fiske had told them about the Vesper activity detected in South Africa. She also told Reagan about Isabel Kabra.

"I can't believe it," Reagan murmured as they stopped outside her door. "Isabel Kabra...out of jail?" She shivered. "I hate that woman. She's always got a trick up her sleeve."

"I know," Amy said, looking down, "but there's nothing we can do at the moment. We need to get down to South Africa to investigate the Vesper activities."

"Okay." Reagan opened the door.

"We have a 7:00 flight," Hamilton said. "So we'll be leaving at 4:00 AM."

"Gotcha. G'night."

Reagan closed the door behind her with a soft thud.

After Reagan had disappeared into her room, Amy looked at Hamilton. "Ham?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"Have you ever considered that we may be too young for this?"

"For what?"

"I don't know." Amy leaned against the wall and sighed. "All this undercover work. Dangerous missions. I mean, we were on the hunt when you, me, Ian, and Jonah were only fourteen and fifteen. Dan, Natalie, and the twins were only eleven. I just sometimes wish..." She paused.

"That we could just have a normal life?" Hamilton asked softly.

Amy nodded. "Yeah," she said. "But at the same time, I-I can't imagine _not_ ever going on the clue hunt. I mean, even with the brushes with death and all that, it was fun. Nerve-wracking, yes, but fun."

"I know what you mean," Hamilton said.

Amy sighed. "That makes one of us. I just don't know what I want."

Hamilton yawned and stretched. "Well, right now I want a good night's sleep. We have to get up early, remember?"

"Yeah. Goodnight, Ham."

"Goodnight, Amy."

Hamilton crossed the hall and went into his room. Amy walked down the hall.

She stopped outside Dan's room and knocked lightly on the door. "Come in," Dan called.

Amy opened the door. Dan was quickly stuffing some T-shirts into his backpack.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "You didn't pack yet, did you?"

Dan zipped the backpack shut. "Now I did," he said with a grin.

Amy smiled and shook her head. "What were you doing all this time?" she asked.

Dan paused, then said, "Come here."

Amy crossed the room and sat on Dan's bed. Dan reached under the bed and pulled out a large shoebox. He put in on her lap. "Open it," he said.

Amy pulled off the lid and gasped. The shoebox was chock full of familiar knick-knacks and photos, postcards and matchboxes.

She pulled out a yellow pencil with Cleopatra's head where the eraser would normally be. "This is the pencil I bought in Egypt," she said. "After Irina stabbed the first one with her nails."

She pulled out a postcard. "This is the postcard Professor Bardsley gave us when we arrived in Pretoria."

"Remember the Gekk brothers?" Dan asked. "And Church Hill?"

Amy pulled out a matchbox. "The matchbox..."

"...from the Thank You Very Much Hotel," they said together, bursting into laughter.

Amy gazed into the box. Everywhere they had gone, Dan had collected something and put it in that box. There were rocks and feathers and pieces of cloth. Some items were recognizable, others weren't. But Amy knew that each one held some sort of memory for Dan and herself.

"This is amazing," she whispered, pulling out a small gold chain from Hideyoshi's cave in Seoul.

"What, the chain?" Dan asked. "It's gold, sure, but it's nothing fancy..."

"No," Amy said. "I mean everything. All of these things. All of these memories."

A mischievous glint appeared in Dan's eyes. He took the chain from Amy and said dramatically in a falsetto voice that Amy assumed was supposed to sound like her's, "Yes, indeed. This glittering chain reminds me of Ian's glittering eyes, and it's shininess reminds me of his shiny, shiny hair..."

Amy's face reddened. "Shut up, dweeb!"

"...and don't get me _started _on his wardrobe..." Dan continued in the falsetto voice.

Amy laughed and whacked him with a pillow.

Dan grabbed the other pillow and whacked her back.

A full-fledged pillow fight may have started if Dan's webmail hadn't beeped on the computer on his desk.

Dan went to the computer and clicked on the message. "It's from Madison," he said. "It's a video." He clicked on the link.

Amy walked over and looked over his shoulder as the movie started.

Reagan was talking to Troy Jackson. The audio was pretty bad, because of the yelling of the football fans in the background, but then Madison (Dan assumed that it was Madison who took the video) moved closer, and he could make out what they were saying:

"...sure you don't want to hook up?" Troy was saying.

Reagan smiled sweetly. "Sure," she said. "I'll go find a hook, and then you can hang on it by your shirt collar."

From off-screen, Dan could hear Madison hoot, "Buuurrrrnnn!"

"Last chance," Troy was saying. "Remember, this is..."

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Reagan interrupted, making Dan think that she had heard it before.

He was right.

"Yeah, I know," Reagan continued. "But for something that's so rare, why does it seem to keep happening to me?"

Amy snorted.

Troy grinned. "You must be a lucky girl," he said, taking a step closer.

Dan clenched his hands into fists.

Reagan took a step forward too. "You know," she said, "you're kind of cute."

Amy glanced at Dan, who's face was turning red.

"I know," Troy said, grinning. "It's about time you noticed."

Reagan smiled at him. "Close your eyes," she said. "I want to give you something."

Troy smiled and closed his eyes, puckering up.

Dan turned away. "I don't want to watch," he mumbled.

"No, Dan look!" Amy whirled her brother around, just in time for him to see Reagan make a fist and punch Troy in the nose.

Madison whooped, and so did Dan.

Troy stumbled back, clutching his nose. "Ow!" he cried.

Reagan rolled her eyes. "That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she said to him. "And if you're a lucky guy, you can get it again."

Dan and Amy laughed at that.

Troy staggered to his feet and glared at her, hands over his nose.

"You little..." he growled. "What's your problem?"

"Don't you get it? _I don't like you!_"

"'Cause I'm not a nerdy math geek who thinks he's a ninja?" Troy sneered.

Dan's eyes widened. "That little jerk!" Amy exclaimed.

Reagan punched Troy in the stomach, and he doubled over.

"I told you never to insult Dan in front of me!" she yelled.

Dan and Amy looked at each other in amazement, then back at the screen.

Troy's hands went to his stomach, leaving his face unguarded.

"Aw," he gasped, trying to keep his cool while gasping for breath. "You protecting your boyfriend?"

Dan groaned.

Reagan knelt on Troy's chest and put her face right by his.

"If you know what's good for you, you'd better stop talking," she said coldly.

Troy shut up.

Reagan stood up and walked off the screen. The video ended, and the screen turned went back to Dan's webmail.

Amy was the first to speak. "Wow," she said.

Dan nodded numbly, still staring at the screen.

"Um..." Amy said awkwardly, edging towards the door. "I guess I'll be going to bed now. 'Night."

She made her escape out the door.

Dan finally snapped out of his trance, and turned off his computer. He turned off the lights and climbed into bed. He stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, trying to make sense of what he had just seen.

He couldn't, and fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

><p>Ian was standing outside Amy's door as she exited Dan's room.<p>

"Hello," he said.

Amy smiled tiredly. "Hi."

"Are you all packed?" Ian asked.

Amy nodded. "Packed and ready to go," she said. "You?"

"Same."

They stood in silence for a minute.

"How's Dan doing?" Ian finally asked.

Amy gave him an incredulous look. "_You _want to know how _Dan's _doing?"

Ian didn't smile. "I'll rephrase that. How are _you _doing?"

Amy looked at the floor. "We're both okay, I guess. Shaken up a bit, but aren't we all?"

"That's for sure," Ian muttered.

Amy looked up at him, realizing that it had never occurred to her that Ian–always so self-confident, so seemingly uncaring about any troubles in the world–could be shaken up.

"How are _you_ doing?" she asked him.

Ian looked at her. "Honestly?"

"That'd be nice." _For a change,_ she added inwardly.

"I think I'm scared."

Amy raised an eyebrow, masking her surprise. "You _think?_"

Ian shrugged. "I've never really felt fear much before. Not realizing it, at least. I've always had people to feel fear for me." He shuddered. "But this...this is real."

Amy nodded. "I know. Dan and I were talking earlier. I think he knows the danger. I think he's still trying to brush it off as minor. It makes him feel better, joking about things like they're just something out of a video game."

"He doesn't think this is real?"

"Oh, he does. I think he's just kind of in denial with himself. He's stubborn that way."

"Gee, I wonder where he gets that trait from," Ian said drily, looking at her.

Amy made a face at him, then suddenly gave a start.

Ian saw visible surprise on her face. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no. I just...um, realized something."

Ian waited for her to say more, and when she didn't, he yawned and stretched. "I'll be getting to bed, then," he said.

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Amy." Ian went into his room and shut the door.

Amy leaned against the wall. _Did I just have a somewhat normal conversation with Ian Kabra? _she thought. True, they had mostly been talking about Ian's psychopathic mother having broken out of jail, which she assumed most normal, non-Cahill teenagers didn't usually talk about. But all the same, they had spent approximately five minutes talking together with neither one yelling or bursting into tears or calling each other names.

Amy wondered when her topsy-turvy life got even more topsy-turvy. On one hand, she wished for the familiarity of her old life. The life back in their old apartment. The life being a nerd at school. The life where Reagan Holt didn't beat up people who made fun of Dan. The life where she hated Ian Kabra, and where Ian Kabra hated her.

But on the other hand, she could get used to this new life. A life with friends. A life with family. A life where she was respected.

Amy went to her room, changed into her pajamas, and climbed into bed. She fell asleep wondering what tomorrow would bring in her new life.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I just had to rewrite that WHOLE last part, because it contained another Amian kiss that I didn't want yet.<strong>

**Okay, what do I want to talk about? *skims through story***

**Oh, yeah. Starting to put a little more Deagan in here people. TRYING DESPERATELY to keep them IC, but really, how can you keep people in character when they didn't even show any interest in each other in the actual series. But seriously, the day I make Dan lovey-dovey over anyone is the day that I kill off Ian Kabra in one of my stories.**

**AKA: NEVER.**

**Yeah, so Dan and Reagan don't OFFICIALLY like each other. They don't really realize anything that's happening themselves. Again, I don't want this story to be totally romantic, so I'm trying to take any romance in this story slow. Okay? Okay.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-IronShadow007: That's okay. I forgive you XD**

**-CloverThyne: Yay! One of my favorite reviewers reviewed! *looks at other reviewers* Just kidding, you guys...you're all my favorites...**

**-SlytherinGurrl: You hope my story wins an award? Well, actually, the Nobel Peace Prize people _have _been following me around all day...**

**-skandargirl: Thanks! And no, I'm in high school. We have midterms in high school. And sorry, not much Amian in this chapter. ((I was about to end this review with "..." but then realized that that's how I ended my last two reviews...GAH! I ALMOST DID IT AGAIN!))**

**-Hiker Writer: Thanks for pointing that out. I did have a page break, but FF ate it. I'll try to go fix that. And Sinead didn't see Mr. Dhine because he wasn't at the party, remember. He wasn't in the room with all of the guests. Ham and Jonah found him in the maze. Sinead never saw him.**

**-TheDan547: Right...NOW!**

**Thank you, my lovely reviewers, one and all!**

**Okay, so I have yet another dilemma. As many of you know ((because I've said it many times before)) I started writing this story...huh, almost a year ago. I didn't even know about FF for a few months into writing it. So I have a lot of things in my story that I've had to change due to a realization that certain things are overdone and cliche.**

**Kurt is coming up in this story.**

**Now, it's not a HUGE part of the story, so I could always take it out. Personally, I find putting Kurt in the story a feeble attempt of making Ian jealous–no offense to anyone who's done it. And, of course, that was my original motive when writing this story. But now I've seen it done sooo much, I'm just not sure anymore.**

**So what do you say, dear readers? Keep it or trash it?**

**The fate of this story is in your hands. No pressure.**

**Just kidding. The story may veer off track a bit, but it'll somehow find it's way back to the original storyline. But really, review and let me know what you think. If you think I should keep it, I'll try not to make it too cliche. I promise.**

**Anyone who reviews gets virtual girl scout cookies!**

**Until chapter 26,**

**-KT**


	26. Chapter 26

**I haven't had a disclaimer in a while. So...**

**Me: Sarah!**

**Sarah ((my newly-initiated Cahill best friend who has become obsessed with Hamilton Holt)): What?**

**Me: Can you do the disclaimer?**

**Ian: *appears out of nowhere* She's not going to be as good as me...**

**Me: We'll see.  
><strong>

**Sarah: *taps chin* Hm...I might need some help.**

**Me: *sighs* Alright, I get what you're driving at...HAMILTON?**

**Hamilton: *walks in* Yeah?**

**Sarah: O.O OHMYGOD IT'S HAMILTON! *faints***

**Hamilton: *pokes Sarah* Hello?**

**Ian: Told you.**

**Me: Fine. Will you do it?**

**Ian: Just because you admitted I was right. KTRose12 does not own The 39 Clues or any of its characters. She does, however, own the stories "Six Years Before" and "Cahills Read Fanfiction," which you might be interested in checking out...**

**Me: Thanks.**

**Ian: ...if you have no lives.**

**Me: IAN!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Dan was facing an army of black-robed ninjas, all with their faces hooded.<p>

One jumped at him, and Dan grabbed the ninja's hood and pulled it back. The face of Troy Jackson leered at him.

All the ninjas had the face of Troy Jackson. They started attacking Dan, but he used his awesome wushu skills to take down one after the other.

Suddenly, Dan heard a girl's scream. He looked wildly around. "Reagan!" he yelled. The ninjas all jumped him at once, shaking him and yelling, "Dan...Dan..."

* * *

><p>"Dan!" Amy yelled, shaking her brother awake.<p>

Dan sat bolt upright. "Gah! Ninjas!" he cried. He looked around.

Amy rolled her eyes, used to her brother's way of waking up.

"Come on," she said. "It's quarter to 4:00. We need to catch our plane."

Dan rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I heard a scream..."

Amy winced. "Yeah. That was me. I discovered your..." She shivered, "...spider collection."

"They're not REAL," Dan protested, rolling out of bed. "It's a _rubber_ spider collection."

"It's creepy, okay? Now get dressed and get downstairs with your bag. Nellie made a breakfast for the car."

At the word "breakfast," Dan's stomach growled. Amy left the room, and he quickly threw on some clothes, grabbed his backpack and duffel bag, and headed downstairs.

"Hamilton!" Amy banged on his door "Ham, wake up!"

There was a thud from inside the room. Hamilton, dressed in a football jersey and basketball shorts, opened the door. "Amy?" he asked sleepily. "It's still dark out. Why did you wake me up?"

Amy sighed. "Does South Africa ring a bell?" she asked drily.

Hamilton's eyes widened. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed. "I need to get dressed!" He quickly shut the door again.

Amy hoped that he was actually getting ready, and hadn't just dived into bed again.

She moved down the hall to Ian's room. Her hand was poised to knock when he opened it.

"I'll be down in two minutes," he said.

"Great," Amy said, relieved that she had one less person to drag out of bed.

Ian closed the door, and she crossed the hall to the twins' room. She knocked on the door. "Madison? Reagan? Are you two awake?"

"I am," came Reagan's voice. "I'm still working on Rip Van Madison."

"We're leaving in fifteen minutes," Amy said.

"Got it. We'll be ready. Madison, wake _up__!_"

Amy smiled and shook her head.

Jonah emerged from his room, yawning. "Yo, y'all gonna miss your plane if you don't hurry up," he said, passing Amy.

"I'm _trying_ to wake everyone up!" Amy exclaimed.

"I'd check on Ham again," Jonah called over his shoulder.

Amy went to Hamilton's door again. She banged on the door. "HAMILTON!"

"Wha...? I'm up! I'm up!" There was another thud, and the door swung open. Hamilton hadn't dressed yet.

"Come on, Ham!" Amy cried. "Get ready!"

"Okay, okay..." Hamilton closed the door again.

Amy counted to ten, then banged open the door.

Hamilton tumbled out of bed.

"HAMILTON HOLT!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll get dressed, I swear!"

Hamilton pulled out a T-shirt and jeans. "See? I'm getting dressed! I promise."

Amy gave him a doubtful look, but slowly closed the door again.

She turned around, and almost walked into Natalie.

"Oh! Natalie! Good, you're up. We're leaving in ten minutes."

Natalie nodded, and Amy realized that the younger girl was still half-asleep. She gently turned Natalie towards the stairs and gave her a little push to get her on her way. Natalie stumbled down the hallway and trudged down the stairs.

Reagan emerged from her room, dragging Madison behind her. Their two duffel bags, which were wrapped around Madison's ankles, dragged behind them.

Madison was still asleep.

"Reagan!" Amy exclaimed. "Why didn't you wake her up?"

"I tried!" Reagan exclaimed. "But she's not an early morning person!"

Amy sighed. "Well, bring her downstairs," she said. "Maybe the others can wake her up."

Reagan nodded, and dragged her sister towards the stairs.

"Gently!" Amy called after her. She listened to the duffel bags thump down each step.

Ned emerged from his room. "Ted's still asleep," he said. "I wanted to see you guys off."

* * *

><p>As Fiske had told them last night, in addition to him, the Starlings, Jonah, and Nellie were staying at the mansion while the others went to South Africa.<p>

Jonah and the triplets were fine with the arrangement, but, at first, Nellie was peeved. Amy and Dan had listened at the door of the kitchen:

"I've ALWAYS gone with them when they traveled!" she had argued to Fiske, "I've got to go! You're not going, and I'm their other guardian. They need me!"

"Nellie," Fiske had said in his usual, gentle way, "they're not eleven and fourteen anymore. Amy's seventeen now. Dan's fourteen. You have to let them have some independence."

Nellie was silent for a moment. "I just can't let them go off alone," she murmured.

Fiske chuckled. "They won't be alone," he said. "They'll have the Holts and their muscle, and the Kabras and their cunning. Trust me, Nellie, they may not be entirely safe, but the best thing you can do for them right now is stay here."

Nellie sighed. "Okay."

* * *

><p>"Thanks," Amy said to Ned, and he went downstairs.<p>

Hamilton's door swung open, and he came out with his duffel slung over his shoulder.

"Thank god!" Amy exclaimed. "I thought you'd never be ready!"

Hamilton grinned. "Oh ye of little faith," he joked.

He went downstairs as Sinead opened her door, rubbing her eyes.

"Are you guys leaving?" she asked Amy.

"Yeah, in a few minutes," Amy responded, going into her room and grabbing her duffel bag. She left the room again, and she and Sinead walked downstairs.

* * *

><p>Nellie was having a panic attack.<p>

"...and call me EVERY DAY. I want to hear about EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS."

"Everything?" Dan asked.

"Everything important," Nellie said firmly, handing Hamilton a Ziploc bag of waffles.

Hamilton's face lit up.

"You'd better give those to me," Natalie said, taking the waffles from Hamilton, "or else they'll all be gone before we reach the car."

Hamilton's face fell, and he stared longingly at the waffles.

Fiske walked through the front door. "The SUV is out front and ready to go," he said. He checked his watch. "We better be leaving," he added.

It took a few minutes, but soon all of the goodbyes were said. The whole group headed out the door.

As Ian was about to step out the door, Nellie pulled him aside. "Take care of them, okay?" she asked him quietly. Ian was surprised to see the usually tough-as-nails woman blink back tears. She continued. "I...I don't want anything to happen to them. They've been through so much, I just couldn't bear it if something happened..."

Ian nodded. "I will," he said. "I promise. I'll keep them safe. It won't be like...like last time."

Nellie gave him a grateful look. "Thanks," she said. She suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and I just wanted to warn you. In South Africa, we..."

"Ian?" Amy called from outside. "Are you coming?"

Nellie smiled. "You better get going," she said.

Ian turned to the door. "What were you saying...?"

Nellie shook her head. "It shouldn't be a problem. Nothing for you to worry about." She smiled again. "Come on, you need to get going."

They walked out of the mansion and down the front steps.

Ian climbed into the backseat with Amy and Hamilton. Fiske started the car, and he turned the SUV around.

Amy rolled down the window. "Nellie?" she called.

Nellie looked up. "Yeah, kiddo?"

"You be careful, too."

Nellie nodded, and watched at SUV drive down the driveway and out of sight.

* * *

><p>There was another tearful separation at the airport as Dan and Amy said goodbye to their great-uncle.<p>

The Kabras and Holts stood several feet away, letting the three Cahills have a moment.

Fiske hugged Amy and Dan. "I'd tell you to be safe, but that would make me a hypocrite for sending you on this mission in the first place. So...just take care."

Amy sniffed. "You too, Uncle Fiske," she said.

"Yeah, and no trips to Dairy Queen until we're back," Dan joked, hugging the old Madrigal again.

Finally, they broke apart. Amy waved as the seven kids walked across the terminal and out of sight.

Fiske sighed and walked out of the airport. He reached the far and climbed into the driver's seat. He started the SUV, and a flash of white caught his eye as he glanced at the rear view mirror.

He turned around, reached out, and picked up a folded slip of paper that was sitting on the seat. He unfolded it and read the note:

_Dear Uncle Fiske,_

_I won't be wanting this. I thought it'd be best if you kept it, just in case._

_Love,_

_Amy_

And, written in a different handwriting underneath:

_David Dhine  
><em>

_555-813-8125_

* * *

><p><strong>Anti-climatic chapter ending. I know. But at least I updated, right?<strong>

**Right?**

**...aaaaand I just realized that it's kind of short. And boring. Derp. More exciting chapters in the near future!**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-SlytherinGurrl: A love triangle between Reagan, Dan, and Natalie? How can I put this gently...NEVER!**

**Sorry, that was kind of harsh. I dislike any forms of Natan. I have no problem with other people shipping them, but Natan shall never appear in any of my stories.**

**Don't think I'm against your idea because I'm a Gryffindor =) Thanks for reviewing, anyway!**

**-TheDan547: It all comes from the deep, dark space in my skull** **that I fondly call my imagination XD Some things I write I don't even know where it came from...I read back and I'm like, ****"Whoa! Who added this to my story?"**

**-TribalGirl: Well, it's Thursday, so you'll only have to wait one more day to read this...although I guess you'll be reading this on the weekend, so technically you're reading this right now...ugh, I'm confuzzled now...**

**-FallingforWerewolves: Congrats on the longest review you've ever written. And thanks! XD**

**-BookwormGirl16: My head is spinning from your review. Do you talk, like, really fast? Because I seriously heard this voice reading your review aloud in my head at hyperspeed XD I like talking fast...anyway, thanks so much!**

**-Amian fan: Right...now.**

**And, finally, The Booknerds, who for some strange reason could not review my story ((darn Vespers...)) and sent me a PM instead. Thanks for putting in the extra effort to review, and thanks for the review itself!**

**I hate long Author's Notes, but I have the need to put in some statistics for the reviews I got since I updated the last chapter. Let's see:**

**Number of People Who Get Virtual Girl Scout Cookies: Everyone who reviewed...so...here ya go! *distributes***

**Number of People Who Want Kurt to Stay in the Story: 4**

**Number of People Who Want Kurt to Stay in the Story Because They Ship Amurt ((ugh, what a stupid name...)): 0**

**Number of People Who Want Kurt to Stay in the Story Because** **They Want Ian to Beat the [censored] Out of Him: 4**

**Number of People** **Who Don't Think Kurt Should Be in the Story: 1 ((sorry, Random person. Majority rules))**

**So, Kurt will be soon. Oh, and one more statistic:**

**Number of People Who Asked for Hamead/Sinilton Since Chapter 25 Was Posted: 7 ((Although the majority were asked by people without accounts...and almost five in a row that sound very similar is verrry suspicious...))**

**Like I said, if there's going to be any Sinilton, it's going to be much, much later, since I already have a lot of the story written. Also, my friend, Sarah, who has been ripping through the series, finishing, like, two books a week, and is now on the Medusa Plot, ships Hamarah ((Geddit? Hamilton and Sarah?)) If she finds out that I'm writing Sinilton...*shudders* No more rainbow Twizzlers at lunch for me. So I'll think about it, 'kay?**

**I'm going to try to update as much as possible, I promise. My drama group at school is doing Beauty and the Beast, and I got Chip ^^ Anyway, I'm going to be at rehearsals a lot, but I'll try to update in my free time.  
><strong>

**Okay, this note is going to be longer than the chapter if I write any more. If I don't update by Tuesday, Happy Forever Alone Day, everybody! *awkward cough* I mean...um...Valentine's Day. I'm going to be spending V-Day lying on my couch, eating ice cream and reading a****ll the romance Valentine's Day fanfictions people are going to be posting. This isn't really an official contest, but if someone wants to write a Valentine's Day story for me and my boyfriends Ben and ****Jerry to read, let me know! I'll make up some cheap prize for you.**

**Okay, really stopping now. See you next chapter!**

**-KT**


	27. Chapter 27

"They better not steal our passports again," Dan whispered to Amy, nodding at the Kabras' backs as the seven kids walked to their gate.

Amy elbowed him and rolled her eyes. "Let it go, Dan," she sighed. "Just let it go."

"Easy for you to say," he muttered. "He's using his mind-meld on you again."

"_Dan!_"

"What? It's true. I'm sick of all this romance that's going around."

Amy smirked. "As far as I know, there's no romance going around...unless there's something you're not telling me."

"WHAT? EW!"

Amy laughed and dashed after the others. Dan followed her, grumbling to himself.

* * *

><p>"Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for takeoff." The flight attendant walked down the aisle and disappeared through a door.<p>

Dan, who was sitting by the window, checked his seat belt. Next to him, Amy did the same.

Across the aisle, Natalie and Ian were looking very uncomfortable sitting in coach. Natalie squirmed in her seat, and Ian tapped his feet awkwardly.

Dan almost laughed out loud. They had all thought that the Kabras had become accustomed to lower-class life. Dan realized that deep down, they were still used to being pampered like they had been all of their life.

He tried to point them out to Amy, but she was already submerged in her newest book—one on the Cahill family history, that Fiske had borrowed for her from Alistair Oh.

Dan felt a kick on the back of his chair. He turned around and looked over the seats. "What?"

Madison grinned. "Did you get my email?" she asked.

Reagan looked at her sister. "You didn't..."

"Yeah. I got it." Dan sat back down. Behind him, he could hear the twins quietly arguing.

Hamilton's face appeared over the seats in front of Dan. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing," Dan muttered, putting on his headphones.

Hamilton looked like he was going to ask more, but the flight attendant re-entered, and he sat back down.

The attendant told the passengers that they could unbuckle their seat belts, and Dan saw Natalie and Ian immediately do so. He did the same, and elbowed Amy, who still had her nose in her book. Amy looked up. "What?"

"You can unbuckle your seat belt. What're you reading about?"

"It's interesting," Amy said. "This book doesn't say much about Vespers. All I've learned is that there was a man, Damien Vesper, who used to he friends with Gideon Cahill."

"Are you serious?" Dan exclaimed. "Gideon Cahill was friends with the original Vesper?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah. But something happened. I'm not sure what. Anyway, it made Damien Vesper hate Gideon. They never spoke again, apparently, although they were neighbors."

Dan gave a strangled yelp. "He lived on the island too?"

Amy nodded again.

"Did he have any family?"

"No, he and his ancestors just appeared out of thin air. What do you think?"

"You know what I mean."

Amy sighed. "I said before, this book barely has anything about him. I need to do more research about him before I can find out any more."

"I know a little about him," Ian said from across the aisle.

Amy put a finger to her lips. She and Dan had been speaking quietly, for they all knew that it was possible someone could be listening to them.

Ian nodded, and looked around. Amy turned back to her book.

Thirty seconds later, her cell phone buzzed. She looked around—the flight attendant wasn't in sight.

She pulled out her phone and pressed TALK. "Hello?" she said quietly.

"So, as I was saying..."

Amy looked across the aisle and stifled a giggle. Ian had taken out his cell phone and called her.

He grinned. "As I was saying, I've heard some things about Vespers. Although, I thought I knew some things about Madrigals..." He trailed off.

"What have you heard?" Amy asked. Dan leaned in to listen. Across the aisle, Natalie did the same.

"Well," Ian said, "like you said, he was friends with Gideon Cahill. They were both very interested with science. The only difference between them was that Damien Vesper preferred to pay people to do work for them, whereas Gideon did much of his own experimenting at home."

"What about the serum?" Amy asked. "Did Vesper know about that?"

Ian nodded. "He had a spy in Gideon's home. He wanted the serum for himself. However, Gideon didn't think the full serum was ready. He had tried it himself, which caused him to grow very ill. Gideon wanted to perfect the serum, so it could act as a cure."

"For the Black Death?"

"Precisely. They had an argument."

"What?" Dan asked. "Did they argue about what to call it? The Cahill serum or the Vesper serum?"

Ian snorted. "If only it had been that trivial," he said. "No. Like I said, Gideon didn't believe it was ready. Vesper was ready to force him to hand it over. Vesper was a powerful man, but the island was Cahill property. Gideon ordered him to leave."

Dan winced. "I'll bet Vesper didn't take that very well."

"Not in the slightest. The history is vague after that. There was an explosion in the laboratory, setting fire to the house."

Amy shivered, and Dan paled. They had enough fires to last them a lifetime.

"That was the night that the Cahill family separated. They–'

"They accused Luke, our ancestor, of setting the fire," Natalie cut in.

Ian looked at his sister. "How did you know that?" he asked.

Natalie smirked. "You weren't the only one who snuck down to the library at night, you know. I read those books, too. Katherine and Thomas blamed Luke for the fire. Luke left, Jane following him soon after. Then Thomas and Katherine left, leaving Olivia alone."

"With the unborn Madeline," Amy added sadly, "as her only remaining family. That's so sad."

"So now," Dan said slowly, "the Vespers are out for revenge."

"The strange thing is," Ian said, "I remember reading that Vesper wasn't married. He hated children. At least, that was before the fire. So the Vespers aren't all, if any of them are, descendants of Vesper himself."

"Just a whole bunch of first-class criminals ready to make our lives a whole lot more difficult," Dan summed up grimly.

The flight attendant walked down the aisle, and Ian and Amy quickly shut their phones.

* * *

><p>"Please fasten your seat belts. We will be landing in the Pretoria National Airport shortly."<p>

Amy yawned and opened her eyes. She looked down at Dan, who was snoring soundly, his face pressed against the window.  
>She shook him awake. "Dan...Dan..."<p>

Dan stirred. "No, I just need to get the swords..." he mumbled, eyes still closed.

Amy shook him harder. "Dan!"

Dan jerked awake. "Crocodiles!" he exclaimed. He looked around. "Oh."

Amy rolled her eyes. "We're landing."

Dan sat up and stretched.

Amy called across the aisle to the sleeping Kabras. "Ian...Natalie..."

Ian woke up. "What...? What happened?"

"We're landing."

He sat up. "Oh, good," he said, shaking his sister awake. "Natalie, we're landing."

Dan kicked the seat in front of him. "Hamilton, wake up! We're landing!"

Dan felt identical kicks on the back of his seat.

"Dan!" the twins mimicked. "We're landing!"

Dan turned and looked over his seat. "Stop talking like me. It's annoying."

For some reason, they found that funny.

Hamilton woke up and gave a huge yawn. "Are we there yet?" he asked.

"We're landing," Natalie said, sitting up and brushing wrinkles out of her dress.

The seven kids buckled their seat belts and prepared to land.

* * *

><p>An hour later, they were leaving the airport with their bags and backpacks. They headed for the rental car place.<p>

Everyone else waited outside as Hamilton, armed with a fake ID declaring his age to be twenty-three, went inside to get them a vehicle.

He emerged several minutes later with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Maybe I should've been more specific to him about what kind of car he should get," Amy murmured, seeing his happy face.

Hamilton reached them and tossed the keys at Amy. "Number 28B," he said. "Let's rock 'n roll."

* * *

><p>Dan checked to make sure he had the number right. Then he checked again. He did not want his hopes crushed again.<p>

But this time, the Hummer was in the right spot.

"You got a Hummer?" Amy and Dan exclaimed in unison, Amy with dismay and Dan with pure joy.

Hamilton grinned. "Dude, how could I NOT get a Hummer?" He climbed into the driver's seat.

Dan scrambled into the passenger seat. "This is awesome!" he exclaimed.

Reagan and Madison climbed into the backseat.

"A Hummer," Amy muttered, following Ian and Natalie around the other side of the car. "That's _real_ inconspicuous, Ham."

They all got in, and Hamilton started up the engine. "Where to first?" he asked.

Amy started to tell him how to get to the Tomas stronghold, when Dan suddenly said, "Witbank."

Amy gave him a strange look. "Where the Churchill site is? Why do you want to go there?"

Dan turned around and looked at his sister.

"Think, if you were a Vesper, what would you want to do to ruin the Cahills?"

Amy thought for a moment. Then her face slowly lit up. "Sabotage Cahill history."

Dan grinned. "It's times like these that I don't have a hard time believing that you're my sister."

"I don't get it," Natalie said.

"I'll explain when we get there," Dan replied.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Hamilton asked. "Tell me how to get there!"

He pulled the Hummer out of the parking garage and onto the road.

* * *

><p>The Surveyor was not pleased. "Have they arrived yet?"<p>

The young girl standing nearby trembled. "Yes, Surveyor," she said, "their plane just landed an hour ago."

"I see." The Surveyor became lost in thought, fingers tapping the table.

Finally, the Surveyor said, "Keep them under close watch. Report back to me every hour."

The girl nodded, and left the room.

The Surveyor looked at the picture on the table, then said in a cold, soft voice, "The Vespers cannot lose this time."

Smiling up from the photograph were eleven- and fourteen-year-old Amy and Dan Cahill.

* * *

><p>"LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD, HAM!"<p>

Hamilton jerked the wheel to one side, and the Hummer jumped to the other side of the road. Cars honked at the kids as the car righted and continued on down the road.

Amy realized that she had been clutching the door handle, knuckles white. She quickly let go.

"Can I look now?" Dan asked from the front seat, opening his eyes.

"Whew!" Hamilton grinned. "That was close."

Ian studied the map, oblivious to the fact that they had almost just avoided a bad crash and probable death. "According to the map," he said, "you need to take the next right."

"Why couldn't we just buy a GPS?" Madison asked.

Ian looked offended. "What's wrong with my directions?"

Hamilton jerked the Hummer across four lanes of traffic and took the exit to Witbank.

Dan covered his eyes again. "Tell me when it's over," he said. "Or when we die. Whichever one comes first."

Hamilton pulled the Hummer onto a dirt road.

"It's over," Natalie said, looking a little green. "I hope."

Amy looked out the window. Up ahead, she could see the familiar house that she, Dan, and Nellie had gone to three years ago.

"There it is," she said. "The place where Churchill his after he escaped the State Model School."

Ian and Natalie looked up eagerly, knowing that Churchill was a Lucian, and therefore their ancestor. They were disappointed to find the house less-than-impressive, and the landscape unimpressive as well.

Hamilton pulled the Hummer into the small parking lot by the house and turned off the engine. He halfway turned in his seat and said to Amy and Dan, "So. Why are we here again?"

"The Vespers have been causing trouble in the area, right?" Amy asked. "The fires, the murders...they're not random."

"Look," Dan said. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Hamilton. "Five people murdered this week. All of them were Cahills. And this..." He pulled out another piece of paper, "...this fire. Just one room of the museum was destroyed. And it was an exhibit on Shaka Zulu."

"A Tomas," Reagan said quietly, slow realization creeping onto her face.

Amy nodded. "Right. So...this is just a hunch. But the Vespers seem to be trying to destroy anything connected to the Cahills."

"I had this map on the plane..." Dan said, pulling out a third piece of paper, a printout of a map of South Africa. He pointed to the small black dots he had marked on the map. "These are all the events that are suspected Vesper activities," he said. "Look at the pattern of the dots."

He handed it to Ian, and everyone looked at it. The dots seemed to he spreading out from one central point—nearby the location of the Tomas stronghold.

Dan pointed to where they were on the map. It was just on the edge of the mass of dots. "This place will probably be the next target."

Amy shivered. _The next target. _It sounded so ominous, even coming from her own brother's mouth.

Madison pushed open the door. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go in!"

She and Reagan climbed out of the Hummer. The others scrambled out after them. The seven kids walked across the parking lot and into the house.  
>They breathed a collective sigh of relief as cool, air-conditioned air hit their faces. Dan looked around. The front room was empty. He spotted an old chess board sitting in a corner, and his eyes widened. He had forgotten...<p>

Footsteps sounded in the other room. A young man of about seventeen or eighteen entered the room.

He looked at the group of kids. "Hey," he said. "Can I help you?"

His eyes scanned the faces of the group, until they landed on Amy. He gave a start. "Amy?" he asked. "Is that you?"

Amy looked equally surprised, and Dan realized that she had forgotten the young chess player too. "Kurt?"

Kurt grinned. "You remember me? And..." He caught sight of Dan, "...your little brother! Dan, right? Fall into any good holes lately?"

Dan winced. "I try to avoid them now."

Reagan elbowed Dan, and Dan realized he should make introductions. "Oh, everyone, this is Kurt. Kurt, this is...well, everyone."

Kurt nodded, eyes still on Amy. "It's great to see you."

Ian cleared his throat loudly. "We heard that you have some Churchill artifacts here," he said. "We'd be interested in seeing them."

Kurt finally looked away from Amy and looked Ian up and down. He grinned. "Sure," he said. "Follow me." He waved Amy over to walk by him, and led them to another room.

Ian and Dan were at the back of the group. "Who is he?" Ian asked the younger boy.

"Just this guy that lives around here," Dan said nonchalantly. "He was here when I found Churchill's message in the tunnel behind the house. He saved my life."

"Mm-hm. What else?"

Dan shrugged.

"Daniel!"

"Okay, okay. It was hardly anything. They just played a few games of chess. You know, for Amy to distract him while I searched the hole."

Ian groaned as they walked through a doorway.

"Dude, it was just chess. Calm down."

"What may seem like a simple game of chess can hide something bigger."

"Um, thanks, Yoda. Really, though. I mean, okay, maybe she was a _little _gaga over him."

"Gaga?"

"You don't want to know. But really, it wasn't anything...

Dan paused as Amy's laugh rang out from the other room.

He looked at Ian and rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna get involved. You're on your own, Cobra." He went to catch up with the others.

Ian leaned against a wall, trying to sort out his feelings. He put a determined look on his face. First things first. Protecting the Churchill artifacts.  
>He pulled out his cell phone, and, relieved to discover he had service, called Fiske in Massachusetts.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Bum bum ba bum. *cue the lightning* BWA-HA-HA-HA! *gets hit by lightning* OW!<strong>

**Cheap, stupid lightning machine...OH, HI, EVERYONE!**

**I was thiiis close to making this chapter longer, but I wanted to end with the Surveyor thing, so I stopped here. **

***looks back* Ugh, it's too short. I'm changing it *changes it* Congrats, guys. You just got a longer chapter.  
><strong>

**As most of you should have figured out by now ((since I've mentioned it multiple times), I started this before Vespers Rising came out. Originally, Ian's description about Gideon and Damien was different, because I didn't know the real story back when I wrote this. I did change that, however, so this would at least _somewhat_ resemble the actual books. I had to keep the Surveyor, however. I was going to change the Surveyor to Vesper 1, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. So expand your imaginations, alright, kiddos?**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-Hiker Writer: Oh, the minute Reagan dragged Madison downstairs and the smell of waffles entered her nasal passages, she was awake and on her feet before Reagan could say, "Rip Van Madison".**

**-BookworkGirl16: Ha ha, that's okay. Your rambles are funny. And you can have Ben and Jerry. By new boyfriends are Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties XD And you showed those Vespers! Yeah, and I use parenthesis inside parenthesis. It's kind of a habit, because I do a lot of roleplaying and we use (( )) when we're talking about something non-roleplay related. It's weird, I know. And yeah, I think you're weird, but as Dan Cahill says, "Embrace the weirdness! It's cool." ((Besides, I'm weird, too))**

**-Authorcooking6: I'M WORKING ON IT, OKAY? NO MORE REQUESTS FOR HAMEAD! GAHHHHHHHH!**

**Sorry. I exploded for a moment. Thanks for reviewing!**

**-Sadie A. Cahill: Thank you! Someone agrees with me! And I like Deagan. I'm trying sooo hard to keep them as IC as I can, but really, how can you keep Dan IC and still make him like a girl? It's difficult.**

**-SlytherinGuurl: Dude. You're killing me. I'M WORKING ON THE HAMEAD, OKAY? And you weren't too harsh–thanks for the honesty. I hope we can still be friends even from rival houses.**

**-FallingforWerewolves: A power drill in...I'm afraid to ask.**

**-CrystalNight39: The long awaited Amian kiss is going to happen as far in the future as I can bear without snapping.**

**-luverinreadin: I'm trying not to make this completely Amian. I swear, I am. **

**-amianfan102: Ah. That stupid little grin that pops up on all Amian fans' faces when we read about Amian. I know it well. XD**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are da bomb!**

**So have you guys heard about Peter Lerangis' tour for Dead of Night? He's going to be in NYC, and since I live nearby ((*shakes fingers at stalkers* Tsk-tsk)), my friend and I are going to try to go. GUYS! I MIGHT MEET THE CREATOR OF AMIAN!**

**My mind is being blown right now.**

**Anyway, review! Love you all!**

**Until chapter 28,**

**-KT**

**P.S. This chapter should get my reviews count to 300 total for the whole story! *blows party horn* Yay!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry about the wait. And for a disclaimer...**

**Chocolate? I eat that.**

**Theater? I do that.**

**Horses? I ride that.  
><strong>

**The 39 Clues? I don't own that.**

**And now, the story.**

* * *

><p>Nellie Gomez had faced a lot of challenges in her life. The biggest being taking care of Dan and Amy over the Clue hunt.<p>

But she never realized how difficult it was being a worldwide celebrity until she went shopping with Jonah Wizard.

Although the eighteen-year-old Janus dressed in a plain T-shirt and jeans, with a Red Sox baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, he still had a little of that easily recognized gangsta swagger that had made him famous.

And it was _definitely _recognized in Boston, Massachusetts.

After ducking down the fifth alley to avoid the tenth group of crazed fans, Nellie had reached the end of her rope.

"We should go back and get you a better disguise," she panted, trying to catch her breath.

Jonah, who was much more accustomed to being chased by fans and slightly less out of breath, shook his head. "No time," he said. "If you want to get those groceries for dinner, we need to go now."

Nellie sighed. "Fine. But..." She paused as they started down the alleyway, "...do you think you can lose the swagger a little? It's sort of giving you away."

Jonah tried not to swagger so much, but the stiff-legged walk that was the outcome made him look like he was walking on hot coals.

Nellie sighed. "Okay, forget that. Just...come on."

They left the alleyway and crossed the street to the grocery store.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, they ran out, grocery bags in tow.<p>

They had been so close. It was just their luck that the cashier was a Jonah Wizard fan, and after he said, "Thanks, yo," when she handed him the bags, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "OH MY GOD! IT'S JONAH WIZARD!"

Nellie and Jonah were out of there, jack.

Nellie dove into the driver's seat, and Jonah threw the bags in the backseat and climbed in next to her. "Go!"

They drove away as a group of fans flocked the car. Cameras flashed as Nellie gunned the SUV down the street.

As she turned onto the highway, Nellie looked at Jonah. "Dude," she said, "_never _let me take you shopping again."

Jonah grinned.

* * *

><p>Fiske was on the phone when Jonah and Nellie entered the mansion.<p>

When he saw them he said into the phone, "Hold on a minute."

Nellie dropped the bags by the door and walked over to Fiske. "Who is it?"

"Ian," Fiske said. "He says that they're at a Churchill site in Witbank."

Nellie winced. _She_ had remembered what Dan and Amy had forgotten. "Yeah?"

"Dan had a hunch," Fiske said as Jonah joined them, "that the Vespers would be after the site next. Ian wants us to send agents to guard the place."

"Are you going to?"

Fiske nodded. "I trust Dan's hunches," he said. "What he thinks makes sense. At least, enough sense to send some agents there to keep a lookout. I'll call some agents in the area."

He put the phone to his ear again and repeated what he had told Nellie to Ian.  
>"That's right...they'll give you a word to identify themselves...hmm..." Fiske grinned. "How about Cobra?"<p>

Nellie could picture the look on Ian's face, but Fiske seemed to get an affirmative response, for he said, "Good. When they arrive, you seven can head for the Tomas stronghold. Yes. Yes. Goodbye."

* * *

><p>Ian closed his phone and joined the others in the next room.<p>

Kurt was giving them a tour of the artifacts. Dan and Hamilton were in one corner, talking quietly to each other. The twins were on the other side of the room, playing rock, paper, scissors. Ian winced as Madison punched Reagan in the gut, realizing that they must be playing the Tomas version of the game.

Amy was the only one who seemed to be listening to Kurt. Every once in awhile she would say something like, "Fascinating!" or "Wow!" and Kurt's grin would widen.

It made Ian's stomach turn.

Ian went to his sister, who was filing her nails. Ian knew that the file had been used for many other tasks other than filing nails. Lock picking and gut stabbing, just to name two.

But the most exciting thing Natalie had to do at the time was file her nails, so that's what she was doing when Ian walked over and whispered in her ear, "Fiske is sending Madrigal agents to watch the house."

Natalie looked up at her brother. "Fantastic. Can we leave now?" She sighed. "I never though I'd be bored with anything about a Lucian, but if I see another cracked cup that Churchill used, I think I'll scream."

"Trust me, I want to get out of here as much as you do," Ian said, wincing as Amy laughed again, "but we need to wait until the Madrigal agents arrive." He started over to Dan and Hamilton to tell them the news. "Shouldn't be more than ten minutes."

* * *

><p>According to Dan (and Ian didn't doubt Dan when it came to time passing in a boring situation) it took the Madrigal agents one hour, forty-seven minutes, and eighteen seconds to arrive.<p>

If Ian heard Amy laugh at something Kurt had said one more time, he thought he would go crazy.

The others looked the same, but for different reasons, he was sure.

Finally, a man entered the room, walked over to Ian, and said, "Cobra."

Reagan looked like she wanted to strangle the man for taking so long.

"Are there others?" Ian asked the man quietly.

The man nodded. "We have four others outside," he said, "and several more ready to come at our call."

"Great! Let's go!" Dan headed over to his sister. "C'mon Amy, we're going!"

Amy looked at him. "Leaving? We just got here!"

Dan glared at her, and said through gritted teeth, "We've been here for over two hours. _We're going_."

Amy looked ready to ague some more, but it was Kurt who spoke up, "Hey, no problem. I need to close up the place for the night anyway."

Amy glanced out the window. Sure enough, the sky had darkened to a dusky purple.

"Oh. Okay," she said.

Kurt grabbed a piece of paper from a nearby table and scribbled something onto it.

Ian felt a deja-vu moment coming on.

Kurt handed Amy the piece of paper. "My cell phone number," he said.

Amy took it. "Thanks," she said. She let herself be dragged out of the room by Dan.

The rest on the group followed them, Ian sending a dirty look at Kurt over his shoulder.

Kurt watched the kids leave, a perplexed look on his face.

* * *

><p>As they walked to the car, Amy suddenly remembered their original mission. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "What are we going to do if the Vespers show up and burn down the place?"<p>

Dan rolled his eyes, and told his sister how Ian had called Fiske, who sent the Madrigal agents to guard the Churchill site.

"Oh." Amy looked at Ian, as if she had just remembered he was there. "Good job, Ian."

"Just doing my job," Ian muttered, climbing into the backseat.

Amy gave Natalie a confused look, but the younger girl just rolled her eyes and climbed in after her brother.

Hamilton jumped into the front seat and started the engine. "We won't be able to make it to the Tomas stronghold before nightfall," he said. "So I guess we'll stop at the first motel we see."

"I don't know," Dan said doubtfully. "I didn't see any motels on the way here..."

* * *

><p>Ted Starling had never met anything coded or password-locked that he couldn't crack. But he was ready to throw in the towel after sitting in front of his laptop for three hours, trying to hack into David Dhine's email account.<p>

He had tried everything—and after awhile, he had gotten so frustrated that he just started typing random words in:

VESPERS  
>DAVID<br>DHINE  
>RICH<br>MONEY  
>WORLDDOMINATION<p>

Nellie snorted at the last try. "World domination? David Dhine doesn't strike me as a 'world domination' sort of guy."

Ted shrugged, typing in ULTIMATEPOWER. "I've hit rock bottom. This is the best I can think of besides actually going up to the dude and asking him for his password."

He typed in RICH.

"You already did that one."

"Oh." Ted typed in WEALTH, then gave up. "I don't know how he does it," he said, annoyed. "It's just a regular web mail. He must've enhanced it somehow..."

Nellie squinted at the screen. David's email was typed in the username box, and Ted had been typing in the random passwords in the password box.

But at the bottom of the page, a small bar, almost hidden by an advertisement for pimple cream, pulsed softly.

She pointed to the bar. "What's that?"

Ted pushed his glasses farther up his face and squinted at the screen. His eyes widened. "Nellie! You're a genius!"

"I thought you were the genius?"

Ted started typing at lightning speed into the little bar. He pressed ENTER, and the page flashed.

David Dhine's inbox appeared.

Nellie whooped, and she high-fived Ted. "Dude! You ARE the genius!"

Fiske appeared in the doorway, yawning. "What are you two doing up?" he asked. "It's past midnight. I thought you went to bed a while ago."

"Ted hacked into David Dhine's webmail," Nellie said excitedly.

Fiske was across the room in a heartbeat. He looked over Ted's shoulder as the Ekaterina boy scrolled down the list of emails.

Nellie waited with bated breath.

Ted finally sighed. "Nothing juicy," he said, sitting back. "Just emails about school and from his friends. He doesn't even have anything from his father." He opened the "Sent" folder. "Hey, what's this?" He clicked on the top message.

The email popped up:

_Dear Grandpa,_

_Sorry that I didn't reply to you yesterday. Mom threw this huge party (again), and I was up until four in the morning, and then slept through the whole day. I know, I know, you say that our family can run on our raw physical strength alone (well, maybe not dad), but I just had to crash._

_Anyway, I'm taking a flight tonight. I'll be at the airport early tomorrow afternoon. _

_See you soon!_

_-David_

Nellie rubbed her face. "Seems innocent enough," she said, "unless this grandpa turns out to be some Vesper leader or something."

Fiske banged his fist on the table, making Nellie and Ted jump. "I just wish that we knew more about the Vespers," he said angrily. "Knowing so little is just so frustrating."

Nellie rubbed the old man's shoulder comfortingly. "It's late. We're all tired. I think we all could use some sleep."

Fiske sighed and straightened. "Okay," he sighed, "we'll look again in the morning." He yawned, stretched, and headed upstairs.

Nellie gently shook Ted, who had dozed off at the computer. "C'mon, genius. Let's get some sleep."

Ted woke up, blinked a few times, and shut off the laptop. Then he and Nellie went upstairs to sleep.

* * *

><p>Three hours passed. It was long past nightfall, and they hadn't passed a house for miles, much less a motel.<p>

After Hamilton dozed off for the third time and almost drove them off the road, he pulled off over onto an area of grass. "I say we just sleep in the car," he said, yawning.

There was no response. He turned around. "Guys?"

Dan was snoring in the seat next to him. In the backseat, the twins were leaning against each other, breathing evenly. Natalie was curled up in her seat, murmuring something about Chanel bags. Ian was leaning against the window, and Amy's head rested on his shoulder, both of them asleep.

Hamilton watched the others as they slept, smiled, then leaned back in his seat and joined them in slumber.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, this has to be a quick AN because I have to go somewhere in literally five minutes.<strong>

**First, SOOO sorry for taking so long to update. Same old excuse–between school and theater, I hardly have time to do anything else. If I could upload off of my iPod, I'd have updates every day. But, alas...**

**Anyway, here it is. Chapter 28. Yayy! *explosion* And we've reached and gone over 300 reviews! Double yayy! *bigger explosion***

**Response to Reviews ((you all probably forgot your reviews already, haven't you?)):  
><strong>

**-FallingforWerewolves: ...I'm not gonna ask.**

**-Aqua Cahill: Soon, inquisitive child...soon...**

**-reviewer007: A lot of people think I should make Kurt a Vesper. I dunno. I just kind of put him in the story to irritate Ian...^^ I'll think about it, though. Yeah, and no Natan. Sorry. Thanks for respecting my opinion, though. You respect mine and I'll respect yours :)**

**-DreamerGirllikesgray: THANK YOU. That was just the balance I was trying for. So glad someone thinks that I reached that point. And I'd love to enter in your contest, but the truth is, I have NO time. I was considering entering Six Years Before, because I thought I'd be done with it by your deadline, but I need The Maze of Bones for it and my friend is currently holding my copy hostage in her locker, so I probably won't be able to do this contest. I'll try to enter if you do another one in the future, though!**

**-PinkGoesWithEverything: Hey, long time, no ramble! XD Thanks for the review. Your reviews always crack me up and leave me with that warm fuzzy feeling ^^ Merci beaucoup, ma cherie!**

**-luverinreadin: XD I didn't take it as offending. Thanks for the review!**

**-clara0414: Yeah, well, technically Amian didn't exist until the third book because Ian didn't start liking Amy until then ((as far as we know...O.O)). My friend just finished book 3. WE'VE GOT A NEW AMIAN SHIPPER, PEOPLE! I made her pinkie swear in the middle of math class to never abandon the Amian ship no matter what happens XD**

**-mcleo1: The next time someone asks for Hamead, there's not gonna be any, CAPISE? Sorry, I don't mean to sound harsh. I'm not really that mad ^^ But seriously, guys. I'm working on it, 'kay?**

**Okay, I just texted by friend Sarah ((you know, the one who ships "Hamarah")) and told her about the army of Hamead shippers attacking my review box. She replied as follows ((Note: The following quote does not state this author's opinion in the slightest. KTRose actually sort of like Hamead. Just don't tell Sarah)):  
><strong>

**"No one gives a flying sod about Hamilton+Sinead, and if they do, then they can put that in their juice box and suck it!"**

**My friends, as I may have mentioned before, are all a bit strange.  
><strong>

**-StuckInSpace: Sarah says thanks for wishing her luck. I try to tell her that it's impossible that she'll ever get with Hamilton, considering the fact that he's fictional, but then she goes, "WELL SO IS IAN!" because all my friends think I have a crush on Ian Kabra.**

**Anyway.**

**-anon: The Dan and Reagan romance hates you, too, don't worry ^^ Glad you like the story, at least.**

**Ugh, I was trying to make that short. I couldn't. I just love replying to you guys ((unlike a certain author with the initials PL who didn't answer my question on the Cahill Message Board...-.-)).**

**Again, I can't remember any of the stuff that I think of to tell you guys when I'm not updating a chapter. I really need to write these down...**

**Oh, yeah! I MET PETER LERANGIS! He sighned my Dead of Night! And my Sword Thief! And my Viper's Nest! And a bunch of author card for me to give to my friends! I was all cool, like, "Hey, Peter. Love the books. You should check out my fanfics sometimes." And he was like, "I would love to. Can I have your autograph?"**

**Just kidding. I almost fainted from excitement and barely said two words. I _did _ask him if Ian ever escaped the wrath of Saladin, though. He laughed and said, "No, not ever." XDD**

**I really need to stop before this AN becomes longer than the chapter itself. I GOTTA STOP DOING THAT! Anyway, you know the drill. Review, please! One liners are welcome, longer ones are cherished and kept in a box that I keep under my bed! ((Just kidding. I have a trundle bed. It's virtually impossible to put anything under there.))**

**Until Chapter 29,**

**-KT**

**P.S. Oh, yeah! I'm working on Cahills Read Fanfiction. I think it's going to be the last chapter :( But now I'll have time to write more of my ideas for stories! :) And Six Years Before...well, as I said inDreamerGirllikesgray's review response, I'm having a little issue with a book being held hostage, so I'll get to that as soon as I can. **

**Okay! And...END.  
><strong>


	29. Chapter 29

**I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY.**

**Yeah, sorry about taking so long to update. I had a lot going on, with my school musical and all...but hey, I'm updating now!**

**And I made the chapter extra-long as an apology. Oh, and there's some Amian, too. And possibly The Kiss.**

**Curious? Read and find out!**

* * *

><p>Ian awoke, the sun glaring in his face. Next to him, Amy stirred, her head resting against his shoulder. She opened her eyes.<p>

"Good morning," Ian said quietly, so not to wake the others.

"Morning." Amy suddenly realized she was leaning against him, and quickly sat up. She blushed. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Ian opened the door of the Hummer and climbed out onto the grass. He stretched and cupped a hand above his eyes to block the sun, then looked around.

"We're in the middle of nowhere," he announced as Amy crawled out of the car.

Amy stood next to him and looked around. "We have to be _somewhere_," she said, turning on her heels and looking in the other direction.

There was nothing but grass and dirt for as far as they could see.

Ian went back to the car and returned with the map. He opened it up and put it on the ground, kneeling by it. Amy sat down next to him.

"See there?" Ian pointed to a spot on the map. "That's Witbank. We traveled for about three hours in this direction at approximately fifty miles per hour, so we should be..."

He ran his finger up the map. "...somewhere around here."

Amy pointed to a spot right above his finger. "There's a town right there," she said. "About twenty miles from here."

"Great. And from there we can head straight to the Tomas stronghold."

Ian folded up the map and stuck it into his shirt pocket.

The two of them sat in silence for awhile, the cool morning breeze blowing about them.

It was Amy who spoke first. "I know what you're thinking," she said quietly.

It just so happened that at that moment, Ian had been wondering if he could get a decent cappuccino at the next town. But he knew that Amy was probably talking about the thought that had been stewing about in the depths of his mind since yesterday evening.

He said nothing.

"Kurt's a great guy," she continued in a soft voice. "When we went to Witbank, it was after...you know."

He knew.

"He was just really nice. When Dan almost got himself killed trying to find Churchill's message...Kurt probably saved his life. And he wasn't even mad that Dan had made the whole thing cave in."

Amy sighed. "It was wonderful, for the short time we were there. It was like my senses were all turned on again. And then we had to leave, and..."

_It was like you leaving all over again_, she thought.

Amy looked up at him. "I thought I liked him. Like-liked him, you know? I thought that's what gave me that feeling. But..."

She paused again, and Ian waited.

Amy let out a dry chuckle. "You know, I thought about this before I fell asleep last night. It made so much sense in my head. It's going to sound so weird out loud."

She took a deep breath, then continued. "You...you made me so happy. And when you...left...it was like everything shut down inside of me."

Ian opened his mouth, looking like he was going to start apologizing again. Amy caught the look on his face and said, "I know. We've been over this. Just listen."

Ian closed his mouth.

Amy continued. "Talking to Kurt made me feel like I...ugh, how can I say this? Like I was talking to you again."

Ian smirked. "So you're saying that you missed me?"

"I didn't say that."

"You were implying it."

"You're really full of yourself, you know that?"

Ian grinned. "I've been told. Mostly by you."

Amy bit back a smile. "Y-yeah, well, it's t-true."

"Amy."

Amy looked up, her eyes locking with his.

Ian reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, then leaned towards her. Amy closed her eyes.

_BANG!  
><em>  
>Ian and Amy sprang apart as the door of the Hummer slammed open and Natalie and Hamilton climbed out.<p>

"Where are we?" Natalie called, looking around. "We're in the middle of nowhere!"

Ian and Amy looked at each other and started cracking up.

* * *

><p>Every morning, Fiske Cahill sat at the kitchen table with a coffee and the morning paper. That morning, he took a sip of coffee, glanced at the front page, and spit his coffee into his mug.<p>

Nellie gave him a strange look as she sat down at the table across from him. She looked down at her own mug of coffee. "Is it really that bad?"

Without saying a word, Fiske pushed the paper over to her as Jonah and Ned entered the kitchen.

Nellie looked at the front page and choked. A grainy picture of her and Jonah in the SUV showed under a screaming headline:

JONAH WIZARD AND MYSTERY GIRL SPOTTED IN BOSTON.

"Oh, jeez," Jonah muttered, reading the headline. Beneath the headline read:

_Story on page three._

Nellie and Jonah quickly flipped to page three. Fiske watched, looking slightly amused, and sipped his coffee cautiously. Ned looked over Jonah's shoulder.

Nellie read out loud:

"Yesterday, the famed teenage rap star, Jonah Wizard, was spotted in downtown Boston with an unidentified girl..."

Nellie paused. "You know, I've been called a lot of things in my life. But I think this is the first time I've been known as an 'unidentified girl.'"

"Just keep reading," Jonah urged.

Nellie sighed and continued:

"Jonah Wizard, who has before now been unseen by the public for two years, suddenly appeared in a small grocery store. He was identified by a store clerk, and he fled before the press arrived. But witnesses claim that Wizard was accompanied by a young woman with, to quote one witness, 'Enough punk to start a band.'"

Nellie stopped again. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"Keep reading!" Jonah and Ned both said.

She sighed again:

"If you have any information on the whereabouts of Jonah Wizard or the girl he was with, call our gossip section hotline at 555-1-GOSSIP."

Ned reached for the phone.

"Ned!"

The Starling boy grinned sheepishly. "What? Maybe there's a reward."

Nellie sighed and rubbed her eyes. "It's just a matter of time before some airhead in one of my classes sees the picture and gets the same idea."

Jonah looked abashed. "I'm really sorry, Nellie."

Nellie looked up at him and fiddled with her nose ring. "It's not your fault. We should've been more careful." She smiled weakly. "Hey, it's not the worse thing that could happen."

Jonah and Fiske exchanged a glance, and smile on Nellie's face dropped. "What?"

Jonah collapsed into a chair. "My mom didn't know where I was," he said simply. "We were trying to keep it that way. But now it's only a matter of time..."

Nellie was confused. "I thought we had the support of all the branches," she said. "Why are we worried about Cora Wizard knowing where you are?"

Fiske sighed, and for a moment he looked hundreds of years old. "You are right," Fiske said. "Cora has given us the support of the Janus branch. However, after Jonah..."

"Let me tell her," Jonah interrupted. He looked at Nellie. "After the gauntlet, my mom was furious that I hadn't won. So I left."

He was quiet for a moment, staring down at the table. "One day I just packed my bags, said goodbye to my dad, and left. I went to a friend, another Janus, who lived in New York. He was glad to take me in."

Jonah gave a little half smile. "Living in NYC was great, 'cause there are so many lookalikes and wannabes that no one gave me a second glance."

"So you see," Fiske said, "Cora may not be so happy when she finds out that her son is here. She knows that we're here, and she'll put two and two together."

Nellie nodded. "I understand. She won't want to help if she knows that her son is right in the middle of things."

Jonah's face was serious. "It might even be worse than just not helping," he said. "She might..." He trailed off.

Nellie read the expression on his face. Her eyes widened. "You don't think...that she would join the Vespers, do you?"

Jonah's eyes darkened in the centers. "My mom...my mom is too much like Isabel Kabra," he said. "Back during the clue hunt, she wanted me to start doing things...you know, like Lucians."

He suddenly banged his fist on the table, making Nellie, Fiske, and Ned jump. "I couldn't do it!" he said. "I _wouldn't _do it. I wanted to do things the Janus way."

He sighed, and slumped back into his chair. "I think that sometimes my mom wished that she was born a Lucian."

"That's not uncommon among the Janus," Fiske mused.

Jonah looked at him, a startled look on his face. "What?"

"Back when Gideon Cahill was alive," the old Madrigal said, "Jane Cahill was very close to her brother, Luke, just as Katherine and Thomas were. She was told to have looked up to him in every way, ignoring the certain..._qualities_, that made others avoid Luke."

"So, you're saying," Jonah said slowly, "that all Janus have a hidden admiration for Lucians."

Fiske shook his head. "Not _all_," he said, "But it's certainly there. There are so many things from the past that affect how each of us are today, besides the serum formula in your DNA."

Nellie noticed how Fiske said "your" instead of "our." She knew that Madeline Cahill never took the serum, so the Madrigals weren't genetically enhanced.

"History does repeat itself," Fiske said. "Let's just hope, for the sake of everyone..."

"What?" Jonah asked.

"Let's hope it doesn't repeat exactly."

* * *

><p>"I'm hungry."<p>

Amy gave her brother an exasperated look. "Really? How could I have guessed that?"

"Maybe," Reagan mused, "because he's said it once..."

"...or twice..." added Madison.

"...a minute..."

"...for the past hour..."

Dan crossed his arms. "I can't help it if I'm used to three meals a day. It's 11:00, and I haven't had breakfast yet."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Okay, now you're starting to sound like me."

"And that's just sad," Reagan added.

"_Excuse me?_"

"We're almost there," Hamilton interrupted, gunning the Hummer at the sight of a road sign.

They pulled up in front of a diner, and climbed out. The seven kids filed inside.

Dan and the twins ran up to the front counter, where people were sitting on tall stools. Dan quickly scrambled up one of the stools and started studying the menu.

"Who's buying?" he asked as the others sat down around him. "Because I'm getting a huge stack of pancakes and a tall glass of Coke."

"Dan! Coke for breakfast?"

Dan ignored his sister. A waitress appeared behind the counter and took their orders. Noticing their various American and British accents, the waitress said, "Are you all here on vacation?"

Natalie nodded. "Yes," she said, her voice smooth and silky. "We're meeting up with our parents later."

The waitress gave them a strange look, observing the contrasts between Madison's light hair and Ian's dark hair, Amy's green eyes and Hamilton's blue eyes, and the difference between Natalie and Dan's accents as Dan said, "Actually, can I have a Pepsi instead of a Coke?"

The waitress changed the order. "You all siblings?" she asked curiously.

"Cousins," they said in unison.

She nodded, accepting that excuse (which was _somewhat _truthful), and left to fill their orders.

Hamilton was watching a soccer game on a small T.V. across the counter, when he caught some words of a conversation two men were having at a table nearby.

"Fire down at the..."

"...never saw it..."

"...know what it was for?"

"I only heard that..."

Hamilton elbowed Natalie, who was talking to Reagan.

"Hey, Nat," he said quietly. "See if you can find out what those two guys over there are talking about."

Without any questions, Natalie said loudly to Reagan, "Let's go look out the window!"

Reagan, understanding the look on Natalie's face because of the fact that Natalie's voice was never that chipper under normal circumstances, let herself be pulled to the window.

The two girls stopped just a few feet away from the two men and pretended to look out the window. Reagan gave Natalie a sideways look that read, _Why are we acting like four-year-olds who find it fun to look out windows at virtually nothing?_

Natalie jerked her head backwards a little, and Reagan turned her head a smidge and noticed the two men talking nearby them. She nodded at Natalie, showing she understood. Then they listened:

"So no one really knew what the place was for?" asked one man. His black mustache twitched as he talked.

The other man shook his head. He was wearing a cheap tourist safari hat. "It was some sort of research lab, the locals thought. The whole place was buried in the rubble of the fire."

Natalie and Reagan looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Anyone dead?"

"No, as far as they know, everyone got out in time."

The Mustache Man pulled out a map and spread it out on the table. "Show me where it was."

Safari Hat Guy studied the map for a moment. Then he pointed.

The two girls couldn't see the map from where they were.

Reagan ran away from the window. As she was passing the mens' table, she pretended to trip and fall.

The two men both stood to help her up. While their attention was on the Holt girl, Natalie walked past the table, bent over the map for a moment, and, and found the location that the man had been pointing at.

It was just as she had feared. It was the research center, the cover-up for the Tomas stronghold.

And it had been hit by the Vespers.

* * *

><p>Exactly ten minutes after Fiske had finished his coffee, Cora Wizard called.<p>

Fiske glanced at the caller ID on his phone, winced, and flipped it open. "Hello?"

Cora was yelling so loud, Nellie could hear the tinny voice coming out of the phone from across the kitchen.

"YOU KNEW WHERE MY SON WAS?" she cried. "All this time, I've been searching for him, and YOU KNEW WHERE HE WAS?"

Fiske cleared his throat nervously, glancing at Jonah. The teenager's face was void to any emotion.

Fiske cleared his throat again and answered slowly, "Not this whole time, Cora, not this whole time. When we finally tracked down Jonah..."

"How?" Cora exclaimed. "How could you track him down when my agents could not?"

"Perhaps because he didn't want to be found by _your _agents," Fiske said. "Do not underestimate your son, Cora. He has more skill than you think. And I'm not talking about his performance skills."

The edges of Jonah's mouth quirked.

Cora was silent for a moment. Just as Nellie was starting to think that she had hung up, the head of the Janus branch spoke in so soft a voice that Nellie and Ned had to lean in to hear:

"Can...can I talk to him?" she asked.

Fiske glanced up at Jonah.

Jonah shook his head firmly.

Fiske sighed and spoke into the phone, "I don't think he's ready yet."

"I made a mistake," Cora said. "I tried to make him something he was not. I tried to be something I was not. Can you...can you just tell him...that I'm sorry?"

Suddenly, Jonah was next to Fiske, taking the phone. "Mom?" he said, his voice cracking slightly. "Mom, it's me." He held on to the phone like it was a life preserver in the middle of the ocean.

"Jonah. Oh, Jonah, my dear...I've missed you so much..."

Jonah left the room to talk to his mother in private. Fiske smiled softly, and went to rinse out his coffee mug.

* * *

><p>The seven Cahills were silent as they left the diner. None of them had touched their breakfasts (although Dan asked for a doggie bag for his).<p>

They stood around the Hummer. "So..." Natalie said slowly, "now what?"

"I-I don't know," Amy stammered, furrowing her brow.

Hamilton crossed his arms. "Well, I think we should still go," he said.

"Why?" Madison asked. "You heard what Natalie said. The place on the map was where the stronghold was hidden. Those guys were saying it burned down. How can we go to the stronghold if it's not even there anymore?"

Ian was thoughtful. "It could still be worth the trip. Maybe the men were mistaken. Or perhaps Natalie read the map wrong..."

"_Excuse me?_"

Ian shrugged. "Just a possibility, that's all. Anyway, I think we should go."

To everyone's surprise, Dan said, "Yeah. I think we should, too."

"You do?" Amy asked, amazed that Dan would agree with Ian on anything.

The Madrigal boy nodded. "Yeah. Because, you know, even if the place really did burn down..."

Reagan and Natalie glared at him.

Dan caught their looks and added quickly, "Not that I doubt what you said! Anyway, maybe we could find something useful in the rubble."

Hamilton shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to look."

But as they piled back into the Hummer, Amy couldn't help but wonder if it could hurt to look.

* * *

><p>Nellie entered her first class cautiously. It was economics—not her favorite class, but her dad had thought it would be good for her to take if she wanted to go into diplomacy.<p>

Nellie didn't really care. Her professor was kind of cute, which was an up side. But most of the other students were nerds who spent most of their time doing other people's projects for cash.

And Nellie knew that most of them probably read the newspaper.

Sure enough, as soon as she stepped through the door, one guy ran up to her, a newspaper clutched in his hand. The professor hadn't arrived yet.

"Nellie!" he exclaimed. "Did you read the newspaper? Is this really you?"

Nellie struggled to remember his name—Bob? Brad? Brad, that was it. "Um, yeah, Brad," she said, sliding into a seat, "that was me."

Fiske had told her she could say whatever she wanted to explain the newspaper—say it was her or wasn't. Nellie decided that the truth would come out sooner or later, so...

"Yeah," she repeated, "that's me."

"Wow!" said another girl, coming up behind Brad. "You _know _Jonah Wizard?"

"I'm related to him—sort of," Nellie said awkwardly. It wasn't entirely a lie—now that she was a Madrigal, she was kind of related to the Cahills. And she was almost a sister to Amy and Dan. So it made sense. Sort of.

A bunch of kids had gathered around Nellie's table by that time, all jabbering at once. To her immense relief, Professor Johnson walked in and said, "Good morning, everyone. Please be seated."

Nellie's economics professor had a British accent, not unlike the Kabras'. It made his lectures a bit more interesting to listen to. He had light blond hair and blue eyes—if it weren't for his accent, Nellie would've guessed on the first day of classes that he was from California.

The professor smiled at Nellie. "I see some of you have been reading the newspaper."

Nellie fidgeted with her earbuds under the table. Prof. Johnson gave her a strange look and continued, "You may all pepper Ms. Gomez with your questions later. Right now, please take notes from the slide on the projector."

He set up the projector and went over to turn off the lights. It was pitch black for a moment, for there were no windows in the classroom.

Nellie reached for her pen when she felt a blow against the back of her neck. Her head hit the table, and she went unconscious.

When Professor Johnson turned the projector on, Nellie's seat was empty.

* * *

><p><strong>BUM BA BUM BUM.<strong>

**Heh heh...I love cliffies...**

**Response to Reviews:**

**((lol...you guys are probably going to have to look back to see what you reviewed...))**

**-BookwormGirl16: Yes, I'm glad I'm not dead, too...XD**

**-anon: That kind of failed...by writing a review saying you're not going to review, technically you were still reviewing because you were reviewing that you weren't going to review. Ow. That hurt my head...**

**-TribalGirl: *pats head* There, there...**

**-slurpie97: Wow, thank you so much! When I started writing this, it was before Vespers Rising came out, and I was so impatient for it to come out that I started writing this ((it's saved on my computer as "My Vesper's Rising" XD)). Anyway, yeah, in a way, it's my own continuation of the series.**

**-Unicorn Ruler of Bacon: Your reviews scared me. I like it XD**

**-TheHelper3440: You're meeting Ridley Pearson? Actually, you probably already met him by now, but...cool!**

**-addicted2reading9: Ha ha...Peter Lerangis is pretty funny, isn't he? When we went to see him, and he walked in, my mom was like, "Does he always wear a baseball cap?" And I was like, "Yes, mom. Yes, he does."**

**-Hostage2: AND I LOVE YOU, RANDOM REVIEWER! ((sorry...Megamind reference...))**

**Lol, my friend just texted me and asked if I was studying for the bio test we have this week. Girl, I can't study now! I have a story to update! XD**

**Anyway, who read Operation Trinity? Ian was totally stalking Amy even before the clue hunt, just saying...**

**Well, I guess that's all for now. Happy Mothers' Day, everyone! ((Of course, probably none of you are mothers...but y'know...))**

**Until Chapter 30 ((oh my freaking gods...30 chapters...O.O)),  
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**-KT  
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	30. Chapter 30

**Dan: IT'S FRIDAY, FRIDAY, GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY...**

**Ian: ...what in the world are you singing?**

**Dan: You don't want to know.**

**Me: *walks in* O.O**

**Ian: ...what?  
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**Me: This has to be the fastest I have ever updated.  
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**Ian: Yes, well...hooray and all that. Can we move on with the story?**

**Me: Ian, you're just like my reviewers.  
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**Ian: Excuse me?  
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**Me: You just can't wait for The Kiss, can you?  
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**Ian: Yes! So can we get a move on, plea–WAIT! No! I can wait! I mean, I can't...er...you...GAH! *storms away***

**Dan: *snickers* Want me to say the disclaimer?**

**Me: Why thank you, Dan. That's very considerate of you, UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE!**

**Ian: I HATE THAT BLOODY DISCLAIMER!**

**Dan: KTRose12 doesn't own The 39 Clues, Kung-Fu panda, or me. Because no one can own my awesomeness.**

**Oh, and by request from SlytherinGurrl, I will now be adding a short recap of the last chapter at the beginning of each chapter, since usually my updates are far apart. ((Although, you know, you _could _always just look back at the last chapter to remind yourself...just saying...))  
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* * *

><p><em>Nellie reached for her pen when she felt a blow against the back of her neck. Her head hit the table, and she went unconscious.<em>

_When Professor Johnson turned the projector on, Nellie's seat was empty._

* * *

><p>Amy Cahill had faced cave-ins, sharks, snakes, spiders, poison fingernails, several different types of dart guns, and many other dangerous situations while on the clue hunt. But she never knew what pure torture was until she was stuck in a non-air-conditioned Hummer for three and a half hours with two arguing twins, Natalie, who wouldn't stop complaining, Hamilton, who kept trying to do tricks with the Hummer, Ian, who's thoughtful silence was driving her nuts, and Dan, who was just being, well, <em>Dan<em>.

"I think I just saw an elephant," Dan said, looking out the window.

Reagan paused from her arguing with Madison long enough to say, "You _think _you saw an elephant?"

"Dan," Amy said wearily, "there are no elephants around here."

"Oh." Dan was quiet for a minute. Then he said, "Are there any cheetahs?"

"No." Amy tried to read her book, but the road was bumpy and her eyes couldn't focus on the page.

"What about pandas?"

Amy gave her brother an incredulous look. "There aren't any pandas in South Africa!"

"Pandas are cool," Dan said, settling back into his seat. "Like Kung-Fu Panda!"

"Mm." Amy closed her book, accepting the fact that she wouldn't be reading on this car ride.

"I had a panda-fur coat once," Natalie said, trying to make conversation.

Dan looked at her. "Whoa! Was there, like, a stuffed panda head for the hood or something? 'Cause that would be cool!"

"Um...no." Natalie grimaced. "The coat turned out to be a cheap knock-off. It wasn't even real panda fur."

Madison made a face. "I hate it when people wear animal fur or skin," she said. "It makes me sad to think about all those animals shaved or killed for human enjoyment."

Everyone stared at her.

Madison looked around. "What?"

"Madison," Dan said, "you have feelings."

Madison flushed angrily. "_I do not!_"

"Do too."

"Do NOT!"

"Do..."

"Guys!" Hamilton yelled. The Hummer swerved a little. "I can't concentrate with you all yelling back there!"

Madison and Dan fell silent. Then Madison hissed, "Do _not_."

"Do _too!_" Dan whispered back.

Amy sighed. She looked over at Ian, who was looking out the window. He felt her gaze, turned, and nodded. "Another half hour," he said. "We should be there soon."

Amy sighed again. With relief.

* * *

><p>Fiske was sitting on the patio out back when his cell phone rang. He put down the file folder her had been flipping through and opened his phone. "Hello?"<p>

Jonah opened the sliding door and stepped out, closing the door behind him. He walked over to Fiske.

"Yes, this is he," Fiske said. He listened, and his face grew pale. "_What?_"

Jonah could make out a rapid murmuring on the other end of the phone.

"Yes," Fiske said. "Yes, I shall do that at once. Yes. Goodbye."

He closed the phone, and stared at it.

"Um...Fiske?" Jonah asked cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

Fiske looked up, surprised. He hadn't heard Jonah come up behind him.

"No," Fiske said. "That was Mr. Gomez, Nellie's father. He just got a call. Nellie disappeared in the middle of her class this morning."

Jonah's eyes widened. "Disappeared? What? How?"

Fiske rubbed his forehead. "Apparently the lights went out for a moment, and when they went back on, Nellie was gone. They assumed she went to the bathroom or something, but she never returned. She can't be reached on her cell phone. She's just...gone."

Jonah put a determined look on his face. "We'll find her," he said, running back towards the door. "Guys! We have work to do!"

Fiske cursed himself for being so careless. He never should have let Nellie go to her classes. She was in this as deep as Dan or Hamilton or Sinead or any of the other children.

Fiske looked down at the file in his hands. Mr. McIntyre had just sent a dozen files, and it was a sick coincidence that this one was on top.

NELLIE GOMEZ was typed at the top of one paper, with pictures paper-clipped to it. At the bottom of one page, in fresh red ink, was written:

_Caution: Major/minor target._

It had been circled twice. But it hadn't been enough.

Nellie had been kidnapped.

* * *

><p>Finally, the Hummer roared down the dirt road at the bottom of the hill where the stronghold was—or, used to be. Amy remembered the last time she and Dan had been there, the streets had been full of people celebrating. Now, the streets were full of people watching search and rescue crews going through the mountain of black ash at the top of the hill.<p>

Dan leaned over and whispered to Reagan, "I though the man said no one was killed in the fire."

Reagan looked at him, her face pale. "I-I don't know. I guess..." Her voice trailed off.

Amy couldn't look at the disaster that the fire had left behind. It brought back too many horrible memories. She turned away, tears stinging her eyes.

Dan turned away. All his life, he had loved watching movies with tidal waves that destroyed cities, or tornadoes that swept away whole farms. The one thing her could never watch was fires. Fires reminded him of Indonesia. How Irina Spasky died for them.

Hamilton and Madison decided to see if they could get some information (and possibly food) from the natives. They were back ten minutes later with both.

Dan was able to pull himself out of his depression to stuff his mouth with the pastry Hamilton handed to him.

"Dube! Aut eie ess?" Dan cried, his mouth full.

Natalie squealed as pieced of dough flew out of his mouth and stuck to her dress. She made a disgusted face and wiped them of. "Ugh, that's revolting! Swallow, and then talk."

Dan swallowed and repeated, "Dude, what is this?"

Hamilton shrugged. "I dunno. But it was cheap, so we got one for everyone." He handed out the rest to the others, who half-halfheartedly peeled back the wrappers and bit into them.

Madison finished hers in three bites, then said, "I talked to some of the locals. The fire was just last night. Around midnight, someone spotted the blaze from their window. They didn't think anyone was there at night, but..."

She trailed off.

_They didn't think that there was a giant training facility under the lab, either_, Dan finished in his head. He glanced at Amy, and by the look on her face, he could tell that she was thinking the same thing.

The seven kids were several yards away from the worst of the crowd watching the searchers go through the rubble. But one man drifted away from the crowd and walked towards them.

Ian noticed the man heading in their direction, and nudged Amy, who looked up. She spotted the man, and her face broke into a huge smile. "Professor Bardsley!" she exclaimed, running to the man. Dan was right behind her.

Amy threw her arms around the man, who laughed and hugged her back. "My god, Amy, is that you? Look how you've grown!" Dan reached them, grinning. "And Dan! You're taller than your sister now!" Professor Bardlsey ruffled his hair. "Good to see you, lad, good to see you."

The five other kids had reached them by this time, and stood still, watching cautiously.

Amy turned to face them. "Everyone, this is Professor Bardsley. He's a...well, he _was _a..." Amy stopped, searching for words.

Bardsley smiled. "I _am _a Tomas," he said. "I used to be somewhat..._unattached_ from my branch. But in the past year, I've began to work with the Tomas again. Especially because of the recent threat from the..." He winced. "Well, you know." He seemed afraid to say the word _Vespers_.

Amy introduced the others one by one, and Bardsley shook each of their hands. The man was smart enough not to react when he recognized the two Kabras from the airplane hanger where Isabel almost killed Dan three years before. He just shook their hands and said, "Pleased to meet you."

When all the introductions were made, Dan asked, "Professor Bardsley? Do you know what happened to the stronghold?"

Bardsley chuckled. "Let me assure you, the stronghold is as unharmed as ever."

The kids let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Yes," the professor continued, "it takes a lot more than a fire to break the Tomas."

The Holt kids grinned proudly.

"You see," Bardsley said, "we don't believe that they...but you do know who we suspect started the fire, don't you?"

The kids nodded.

"Right, then. We don't suspect they actually knew that there is a stronghold under the research lab. They had just heard that it was connected in some way to the Cahills. So they set fire to the lab. The stronghold is safe."

Professor Bardsley looked around anxiously. "But we must hurry now. I told them I'd get you inside as soon as possible. And I'm already behind schedule. Follow me, please." He headed towards the forest that went around behind the destroyed lab.

The kids looked at one another, then quickly followed.

* * *

><p>The first thing Nellie noticed when she regained consciousness, before she even opened her eyes, was that her bed had turned solid. The second thing she noticed was that her earbuds weren't in, as they normally were every morning when she woke up.<p>

Then Nellie opened her eyes.

Her wrists were tied in front of her with a thick rope. The same type of rope bound her ankles together. She was sitting in the corner of a small room, on a cement floor that was cold and hard. There were no windows, and no lights—the only light came through the crack in the bottom of the steel door across the room.

Nellie licked her lips nervously. She tested the ropes around her wrists, but they were securely tied. She figure she could probably stand and hop, despite the ropes around her ankles, but then what? The door was probably locked, and even if it wasn't, who knew what (or who) was beyond it? Nellie was known for acting before thinking sometimes, but she wasn't stupid.

She knew the best thing she could do was sit and wait for her captors to reveal themselves.

So she waited.

* * *

><p>Professor Bardsley led the seven kids through the forest. They stopped by a large tree with a thick trunk.<p>

Bardsley knocked once on the tree. Nothing happened.

Dan turned to Amy and twirled his finger next to his ear, showing that he thought Bardsley may have a screw loose somewhere.

The professor knocked again—once, twice, three times. A small panel slid back from the trunk of the tree, making the kids jump in surprise. A face appeared in the panel; a man with a thick, meaty face and a crooked nose.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Waddya want?"

Bardsley crossed his arms. "Come now, Davis. You know who I am. I must get these children inside immediately."

"Sorry, Professor Bardsley," the man said, "but the boss sez I gotta get positive 'dentification for everyone who's comin' in. You got positive 'dentification?"

With a humph, Professor Bardsley pulled his wallet out of his pants pocket and dug around for his license. He glanced up at the children.

"You'll all need some sort of identification as well," he told them.

They all dug out their passports, and one by one they presented them to the man in the tree.

After they were all "positively 'dentified", the man closed the panel. Bardsley strode through the bushes. "This way, please," he said. The kids followed him through the brush.

They reached a large boulder in the ground. Bardsley lifted a smaller rock by his shoe, and revealed a small number keypad. Bending down, he typed in a pass code. An automated voice said from some hidden speaker, "Commencing area sweep."

There was a low buzz, and then silence for a minute. Then the voice spoke again, "Area sweep completed. Eight humans within the vicinity of eight hundred yards. Continue?"

Bardsley pressed a green button on the control pad, then replaced the rock. There was a low rumbling, and the boulder slid back, revealing a large hole in the ground.

Dan looked down the hole. A steep staircase disappeared into the ground from the hole. It was pitch black at the bottom.

He stepped back, looked at Natalie, and made a sweeping motion with his hands towards the stairs. "Ladies first," he said.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "How gallant." She peeked down the staircase and gulped. She turned to Ian. "Age before beauty," she said to him.

Ian smirked at her. "Scared, are you?" He looked down the stairs and chuckled. "Nothing to worry about." He started down the stairs, first his legs disappearing, then his torso, then his shoulders, then finally his head.

Bardsley held out his arm to Amy. "Kindly lend an old man your arm, will you, dear?" he asked. Amy took his arm, and the two of them went down the steps. Hamilton was right behind them, then Madison, then Dan. Reagan started down the stairs, then turned to look at Natalie.

"You coming?" Reagan asked.

Natalie shuddered. "There must be loads of spiders down there," she said.

"Sure," Reagan said airily, "but I'll bat them away if I see any, okay? C'mon."

Reluctantly, Natalie followed Reagan down the steps. The second her head was below the surface, the boulder slid shut.

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><p><strong>ARE YOU GUYS PROUD OF ME? I UPDATED WITHIN, LIKE, FOUR DAYS! ARE YOU PROUD? HUH? HUH? BE PROUD! BE PROUD OF ME!<strong>

**Ahem. Anyway.  
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**Response to Reviews:  
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**-clara0414: Do I ever plan on ending this? Um...yes? Anytime soon? Um...no.**

**-AngelLilies: AND YOU PEOPLE CALL YOURSELVES HARRY POTTER FANS. ((Well, maybe not all of you...but some of you, at least...)) My buddy AL over here was the only one who noticed ((or at least _commented_)) on the resemblance between Reagan and Madison's dialogue and the Weasley twins. *shakes head* I am filled with shame for you all...**

**Thanks to all who reviewed! You all are beautiful, beautiful people!**

**Dang...I think that's it. Now I have to go and work on my vocab homework ((using the words in 39 Clues-related sentences makes it more fun XD))  
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**Until Chapter 31,  
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**-KT  
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	31. Chapter 31

**WASSUP HOME DAWGS?**

**Me: JONAH, GIVE ME BACK THE KEYBOSAFKJSABFJKS  
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**Yo, homies! It's Jonah! I'm kind of typing this on the run, but KT never lets me do the disclaimer, so I'm taking forcible action! KT doesn't own the 39 Clues! Alright, everyone! See ya ldsfhjkalge;efguaw  
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**KT here. I'm sorry, Jonah fans. I just killed Jonah Wizard.**

**No, she didn't.  
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**ON TO THE STORY!  
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><p>Ned peeked around the corner of a brick building. The guy he was trailing was already halfway down the block.<p>

He quickly rounded the corner and jogged down the sidewalk, keeping his eyes on the target's back.

The Ekat was so intent on the guy he was following that he had to jump out of the way to avoid crashing into a woman with a baby carriage. He jumped over a fire hydrant and continued down the street.

Ted had found out where everyone sat in Nellie's economics class. He, Ned, Sinead, and Jonah each took one person—the girl who sat to Nellie's right, the boy who sat behind her, the girl who sat in front of her, and the boy who sat to her left.

Of course, anyone could have snuck over to where Nellie sat while the lights were out, no matter where they sat. But they picked the four who sat around her, first, since they were the most eligible.

Ned was following the boy who sat to Nellie's left. Bradley "Brad" Jenkins. Twenty-three years old. Lived in an apartment in Boston. Drove a '95 Toyota Camry. No record—he'd never been arrested for anything.

He seemed like a pretty boring guy. But you never knew...

Brad rounded another corner. Ned paused at the corner and peeked around again.

The young man had stopped at a newspaper stand. He picked up a copy of _The Boston Globe_, paid the seller, and walked to the curb. He hailed a taxi and got in. The cab pulled away from the curb.

Ned quickly ran to the edge of the road and whistled for a taxi. One pulled out of the traffic and stopped in front of him.

Ned waved at the driver. "Sorry, my mistake," he said. "I don't need a taxi." The cabbie drove away.

_Never take the first cab that comes to you_, Sinead always said. This was one of those rare moments where Ned actually listened to his sister.

He hailed another taxi. This time, he got in. Luckily, the cab Brad had got into was still in sight, stopped at a red light. "Follow that taxi!" Ned told the cabbie. Then he grinned. He had always wanted to say that.

The cab pulled into the stream of traffic and drove after the other taxi.

* * *

><p>Once the boulder slid shut, the stairs were pitch black.<p>

"Ow! Someone's on my foot!"

"Sorry..."

"Where's the door?"

"Eek! Something's touching me!"

"It's just me. Calm down."

"I can't see a thing."

"You're still on my foot!"

Professor Bardsley somehow got to the front of the group. He felt around on the wall until his hand rested on a small button. He pressed it.

"Gannings!"

There was a crackle of static, and a grainy voice said, "Bardsley? That you?"

"Of course it's me. Open the door, will you?"

"Sorry, sir. Our control system in this wing is down. I'll send someone to open it manually."

There was another crackle of static, and then silence.

"You're still on my foot," Reagan grumbled.

"There's no where else to stand!" Dan exclaimed.

"Just move over!"

Dan stepped over, bumping into Madison.

"Dan!" Madison crashed into Amy.

"Sorry." Dan moved over.

Amy stumbled. She felt someone grab her by the waist and stop her fall.

"Steady there," Ian said, helping her regain her balance. Amy steadied herself and shivered.

"I hate the dark," she whispered.

There was a pause, a low rustling, and then a small click. Ian directed the beam of his penlight around, lighting up everyone's faces.

Amy breathed a little easier.

"Better?" Ian asked.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Ian put the penlight in her hand, and she swung it around, lighting up the small alcove at the bottom of the staircase. It wasn't much. Solid rock walls arched over them, no taller than six feet. Hamilton had to stoop over so he wouldn't bump his head.

The beam swung around more, landing on Dan, who was making a grotesque face. Natalie shrieked, and Dan would've fallen over laughing if there was any room to fall over. So he just laughed.

Natalie scowled. "It isn't funny."

Just then, there was a click, and the door by Professor Bardsley swung open. Light poured into the alcove, making them all squint. Amy flicked off the penlight and held it out to Ian.

"Hold onto it," he said. "You probably need it more than I."

Amy smiled. "Thanks," she said. She tucked the penlight into her pocket.

The group left the alcove and entered a long, well-lit hallway.

The seven kids and Professor Bardsley were greeted by a man about a head taller than Hamilton. The man was huge, with broad, strong-looking shoulders and giant hands. His hair was streaked with gray, but that was the only thing that hinted to his advancing age. His voice boomed through the hallway.

"Bardsley! Did you bring them?"

Professor Bardsley nodded. "Here they are, Crushen."

He turned to the kids. "Children, this is Arthur "Crusher" Chrushen. Crushen, this is Amy and Dan Cahill, Ian and Natalie Kabra, and Hamilton, Reagan and Madison Holt."

"Eisenhower Holt's kids?" the big man bellowed, looking the twins and Hamilton up and down.

Reagan spoke up. "Yes, sir."

The Crusher nodded approvingly at the "sir" Reagan had stuck at the end of the sentence. "Yes, I can see the resemblance. I taught at West Point when your father was there. A fine student." He pumped Hamilton's hand. "You've got Eisenhower's grip, young man."

The man looked down at the twins. "But I suppose your father's strength wasn't passed down to you two girls." He patted Madison on the head.

In a flash, Madison grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder. The Crusher hit the wall, but was on his feet in a heartbeat. He grinned. "I stand corrected," he said, brushing his sleeves off.

He looked at Reagan. "I suppose you both are that strong?" he asked.

"Trust me, she is," Madison said. "I've been thrown into enough walls to know."

Reagan grinned.

The Crusher's attention was brought over to Dan and Amy. "Cahill, huh? You two Grace Cahill's grandkids?"

The siblings nodded.

"A fine woman, Grace," The Crusher said.

Dan threw his hands into the air. "Did Grace know _everyone?_" he exclaimed.

"Or everyone knew Grace," Natalie said. "Like she was a celebrity everyone knew about."

The Crusher turned to Ian and Natalie. "Kabra, you say?" he asked, studying them.

Ian readied himself for some kind of outburst against his mother, his family, his branch, or all of the above. Natalie looked a little afraid of the big man standing over them.

Instead of an outburst, though, the man just said, "We heard your mother escaped the slammer."

Ian nodded, assuming the "slammer" was a crude, common word for prison. "We're trying to figure out how she got out. Who helped her."

The Crusher's eyes narrowed. "You're wondering who helped her?" he asked, looming menacingly over them.

Natalie whimpered softly, and Ian struggled to keep his composure. He glanced away for a moment, and caught Amy's eyes. Amy gave him a small, reassuring smile.

A wave of calm washed over Ian, and he faced the huge man. "Yes. We believe that it was the...the Vespers. And we will do anything to get her back behind bars where she belongs."

The Cruncher studied Ian's face for a moment. "Interesting," he murmured to himself.

He moved back. "Let's all go to my office," he said. "We can speak there in private." He started down the hall.

"Thanks," Ian murmured to Amy as the group followed the Tomas man.

"Y-you didn't deserve that," Amy stammered, looking at the floor as they walked. "H-he was basically accusing y-you of helping Isabel escape."

Ian shrugged. "I suppose I must get used to it," he said. "But," he added softly, "it's Natalie who I'm worried about."

Amy glanced up, and saw Ian looking at his sister, who was talking to Reagan as they walked. "Natalie's a strong girl," she said. "She can handle the pressure."

"She needs a mum," Ian said. "She's not used to...not used to making her own decisions." He sighed. "I can't protect her all her life. There will be more people like Mr. Crushen. People who will look at her and see M...Isabel."

Amy smiled. "You'll both make it through," she said. "You're Ian and Natalie Kabra."

Ian smiled back at her. "And you, Amy Cahill, give me optimism. Come on, we're losing the others."

The two of them ran after the rest of the group.

* * *

><p>Ted cursed under his breath as he tripped over the curb. He pushed his glasses higher up his nose and scowled.<p>

"Stupid glasses," he muttered, stepping up onto the curb. "I can't see where I'm going..."

The girl he had been trailing had gotten into a taxi ten minutes ago. Unlike his brother, Ted couldn't hail a taxi fast enough to follow her.

So now Ted was wandering around town, waiting for 4:00 to roll around, which was when he was supposed to meet his siblings and Jonah at the coffee shop on Main Street.

Ted suddenly found himself outside of the BU building where Nellie had her economics class. He decided to go inside and take a look around.

Ted pushed open the double doors. Any random bystander would consider him just another college student going to class. What any random bystander wouldn't know, though, was that Ted Starling had already graduated college at age five.

Ted approached the stairs. Just then, his cell phone rang.

He flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Ted," Jonah said, "dude, where you at?"

Ted quickly told Jonah what had happened and where he was now.

"A'ight," Jonah drawled, "I'll see you at four."

"Right. See you then." Ted closed his phone and stuffed it into his pocket.

He climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor, and wandered down hallways until he found room 603. He peeked through the small window in the door.

A man in his early thirties or so was at a desk at the front of the room. Ted assumed that he was Nellie's teacher.

He pushed the door open. "Professor Johnson?"

The man looked up. "Yes? May I help you?" he asked. Ted quickly noticed his British accent, the fact that the man was left-handed, and that he wrote with a blue pen. Ted and his siblings had always been taught to get all the facts down as soon as possible. So he took in all of this before saying, "Maybe you can. I'm a...friend of Nellie Gomez. Can you tell me exactly what happened this morning?"

The young professor looked startled, but replied, "She came to class this morning. At one point, I turned off the lights because I was showing slides on the projector. The room was dark for a moment, and when I turned the projector on, she was gone." He shook his head sadly.

Ted crossed his arms. "Do you usually turn off the lights before you turn on the projector?"

Prof Johnson shrugged. "Not usually, I suppose. I just happened to be nearby the light switch after I plugged the projector in, so I did that first." He gave Ted a suspicious look. "You say you're her friend? Are you sure you're not the police?"

"Last time I checked," Ted said drily.

The professor chuckled. "I'm sorry. This whole thing has just got me paranoid."

Ted raised an eyebrow. "This whole thing?"

Prof Johnson shrugged. "Yes? Don't they believe that she was kidnapped?"

"Who's they?"

The professor sighed and spoke slowly, like he was talking to a simple person (which was far from the case). "The police, of course," he said. "Or whomever is handling the case. I've heard that she was kidnapped."

Now, before the Starlings and Jonah had left the mansion, Fiske had made it clear—no police.

"Police would just muddle things up," he had said. "Let's try to save them for a last resort."

So Ted wondered why Professor Johnson thought that there were police on trying to find Nellie.

Ted had nothing more to say to the professor. As he left the room, Prof Johnson called after him, "Let me know if there's any news!"

Ted walked down the hallway and pushed open the doors to the stairwell. As he stepped through the door, he felt something heavy hit him in the head. His vision blurred, and he fell to the floor, cracking his head on the hard cement.

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Whoa. Deja-vu.<br>**

**I'm sorry that I'm knocking everyone unconscious lately!  
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**Nellie: You should be.  
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**Ted: ...ow...  
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**Nellie: Welcome to the club.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-amianfreak19: Your review is awesome, too.  
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**-PinkGoesWithEverything: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I MISSED YOUR RAMBLINGS! *sobbing hug* YOU CAME BACK! I am now dubbing you the Painted Lady of Rambling Awesomeness. EARTHBENDER OUT!**

**-BluelikesPink: *hands tissue* There you go...wipe up your tears...of blood...**

**-cubaluv: Yes, master.  
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**-luverinreadin: Thanks for the corrections. I'll try to go fix them if I remember later. As for the "..." thing...have you ever looked in an actual published book and seen those? Because you'll see that there is, in actuality, no space.  
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**-TribalGirl: Doing vocab sentences like a boss.  
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**-madrigalprincess1: I can't. Jake Rosenbloom hates me.**

**-BookwormGirl16: Amy is insulted that you wish for her to be kidnapped. XD**

**-Sadie A. Cahill: Oh my gods, I hate when Nat and Reagan fight over Dan. I just don't like Natan. I don't.**

**-NCIS Fan 1056: Evan appreciates that you think he's funny.**

**-StuckInSpace: *high five* Midnight is the best time to read fanfiction.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers. I plov you all! ((see what I did there? *awkward wink*))**

**A little note to all of you who are giving me ideas for what to put in this story. I really appreciate it. I really do. I might even use some of them. Some day. But as I've said a lot of times before, I've already written a lot of this story. So for those of you who've asked for Buffy or Evan or the Rosenblooms–sorry guys, but if I ever do, it's not gonna be for a long while.**

**Finals are coming up in two weeks, so I don't know if I'll be able to update. But leave me reviews in my review box! That's what it's there for! Meanwhile, I'm working on several fics at once. Not sure when I'm gonna publish them, but that'll hopefully be something to keep us all going over the summer until Shatterproof.  
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**Alright, I think that's all. *salutes* Good luck to anyone with finals! See ya'll in my ask box!  
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**Until Chapter 32,  
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**-KT  
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**P.S. I just realized that this chapter is kinda short...um, let's just call it fun-sized, 'kay? XD  
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	32. Chapter 32

**So, yeah...it's been a little longer than I expected...sorry 'bout that. Anyway, here's chapter 32!**

* * *

><p>The nine Cahills entered a large office at the end of the hall. The floor was covered with thick, blue carpet, and an enormous oaken desk sat in the center of the room. A couch sat along one side of the room, and four chairs sat in front of the desk.<p>

The Crusher sat down in a high-backed chair behind the desk. "Please, make yourselves comfortable," he said.

The twins and Natalie sat down on the couch by one side of the room.

Dan, Hamilton, and Ian sat down in two of the chairs in front of the desk.

Amy turned to Professor Bardsley. "You can have my seat, professor. I can stand."

Hamilton jumped up. "No, take mine. I'll stand."

Professor Bardsley smiled. "Thank you, children," he said, "but I'm afraid I must leave for now. I have a few things I need to attend to in another section of the stronghold." He turned to the door. "I shall see you all later."

"Bye, Professor Bardsley."

"Later, sir."

"Goodbye, professor."

Bardsley closed the door behind him with a soft thud. Amy and Hamilton both sat down.

The Crusher clasped his hands together. "Now," he said, "I'm sure you're aware that we greatly suspect Vespers to be the cause of the fire that destroyed our only cover for the stronghold."

"The research lab," Amy said.

The Crusher nodded. "Right. We don't believe they knew—or know—that the stronghold his here. We suspect that they just knew that the lab was somehow connected to us. So they burned it down."

"Was anyone hurt?" Reagan asked from the couch.

The Crusher sighed. "Fortunately, no one was in the research center at the time the fire was set. And since the whole stronghold is underground, the fire didn't affect anything down here."

Hamilton leaned forward, an intent look on his face. "What can we do?" he asked.

The Crusher grinned. "That's the spirit," he said. "Just what I like to hear!"

He pressed his palms against the desktop. "We're setting up a twenty-four hour stakeout of the house of a Ramon Vacardez, a known Vesper. Our sources have informed us that Vacardez is meeting with another Vesper who's high up on the importance scale. If we could somehow capture this Vesper, we could hold him as a captive for... for..."

The Crusher paused. "The thing I hate about this," he said, "is that we're on defense. We still have no idea what the Vespers are planning, besides their ever-present goal to conquer the world."

"In the clue hunt, it was easy," Natalie piped up. "We all knew the goal, and knew what we had to do to get it. This is...different."

The Crusher nodded. "Exactly," he said, looking as if he realized that the Kabras weren't as bad as he had thought.

"So you want us to take the twenty-four hour stakeout?" Dan asked.

The Crusher nodded. "You'll take shifts. Two people will be stationed at a time."

"But," Madison said, "there are only seven of us. It's an odd number."

The Crusher smacked himself in the forehead. "I nearly forgot. My grandson has also volunteered to help with the stakeout." He pressed a button next to a speaker on his desk. "Lucy?"

A static-y voice came over the speaker. "Yes, Mr. Crushen?"

"Send my grandson in."

"Right away, sir."

The Crusher sat back and waited.

Thirty seconds later, the door opened. Amy, Dan, Ian, and Hamilton turned in their chairs to see the newcomer. Reagan, Madison, and Natalie all leaned forward.

Seven jaws dropped as David Dhine entered the room.

* * *

><p>"Here's your coffee."<p>

Probably the best three words grouped together in the English language. In any language.

Of course, that was just Sinead's opinion. But she needed that coffee so much that she almost leaped to her feet and flung her arms around the young waiter who set the Styrofoam coffee cup down in front of her.

Almost.

Sinead had gone through a rough afternoon. It turned out that the guy she was assigned to trail was training for some sort of big running thing going on in New York in a few weeks. Sinead forgot what it was called. Sports weren't really her thing.

She was panting after the first two blocks of chasing after her quickly jogging target. By the fifth block, she was ready to pass out. She had been rapidly falling behind her target, and, much to her dismay, when she turned the next corner, he was nowhere in sight.

After peeking into the surrounding stores, Sinead accepted that she had lost him. So she had trudged several blocks to the cafe where she was supposed to meet her brothers and Jonah.

Now she sat at a table inside, sipping her coffee and watching the door anxiously. She checked the time for the third time in the last two minutes. 4:20.

They should've been there twenty minutes ago.

Suddenly, the bell rang over the coffee shop's door. Sinead's head sprung up, and she felt a wave of relief wash over her as Jonah walked inside.

Jonah made a beeline for her table and sat down. "Yo," he said, then waved the waitress over. "One mocha cappuccino." The waitress took down his order and hurried away.

Sinead looked at him. "Yo? Is that all you can say? _Yo?_"

A surprised look came over Jonah's face. "I also said, 'one mocha cappuccino'."

Sinead glared at him. "You know what I mean. Twenty minutes late! I was scared out of my wits! And Ned and Ted aren't even here yet!"

Jonah looked around. "They aren't?" The waitress walked over and placed a coffee cup in front of him. "Thanks. 'preciate that."

The waitress walked away, and Jonah leaned in and spoke in a low voice, "Ted called me an hour ago. Said he had lost his target and was going to talk to the professor who teacher Nellie's economics class."

"Maybe he forgot we were supposed to meet at four?"

Jonah shook his head. "I told him I'd see him at four. He told me he'd see me then."

Sinead pushed her coffee cup back and forth between her hands. Her face was dark. "What if something happened to them? I'd never forgive myself."

Jonah looked at her. "You have to stop holding yourself responsible for your brothers. They can take care of themselves."

Sinead didn't look convinced. Just then, her cell phone chirped. She quickly pulled it out and flipped I open. "Hello?"

"Hey, sis."

"Ned?"

"Yeah."

Sinead almost cried in relief. Jonah grinned.

"Where are you?" Sinead asked.

"Um..."

"Ned..." Sinead said warningly.

There was a nervous chuckle on the other end. "Well, it's a funny story, really..."

"Ned Starling, you tell me where you are, or so help me, I'll..."

Ned sighed. "I'm in Cape Cod."

"_CAPE COD?_" Sinead screeched. The coffee shop fell silent.

Jonah stood. "Everything's fine, folks," he said. "She's just excited about our trip to Cape Cod. Pay no mind."

Everyone resumed their talking, and Jonah sat down again.

Sinead hissed furiously into the phone, "What are you doing all the way up there?"

There was silence over the line.

"Ned," Sinead sighed, "I can't see you shrugging."

"Oh. Sorry. Well, the guy I was following hopped into a taxi, so I followed him. We drove all the way to Cape Cod. Then he got out, and so did I. I paid taxi driver...um, do you know how much it costs to take a taxi from Boston to Cape Cod?"

Sinead groaned.

"Yeah, so I'm kind of broke. Anyway, I followed him to this hotel, where he checked in. He's up there right now. Then I called you. What do I do now?"

Sinead held out the phone to Jonah. "You talk to him. I'm too tired to function."

Jonah took the phone. "Yo, N-man! Dude, you're at the Cape? What happened?" He listened as Ned repeated his story. When the Starling boy finished, Jonah said, "Alright. I'll call Fiske, and we'll figure something out. Hang tight. I'll call you back in ten minutes." He hung up the phone.

Sinead gave Jonah a helpless look. "You're calling Fiske?"

Jonah nodded, punching in the number. "He'll know what to do. And if he doesn't...well, I hear Cape Cod is nice this time of year."  
>Sinead groaned again and buried her head into her arms.<p>

* * *

><p>David stood awkwardly by the door. "You wanted me, grandpa?"<p>

The Crusher stood, crossed the room, and put a huge arm around David. "David," he said, "these are the kids you'll be staking out the Vacardez house with. That's..."

David gaped at Ian and Hamilton. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "You guys are Rebecca's brothers!"

Ian looked at the Crusher. "Wait. David Dhine?

"A _Cahill?_" Hamilton exclaimed.

Crusher looked back and forth between the boys. "You know each other?"

"But..." Dan spluttered, "...he's a Vesper!"

David shook his head. "My dad's a Vesper. My mom's a Cahill. Dad doesn't think I know anything about Vespers OR Cahills, but my mom and Grandpa Crusher have been telling me the story since I was little. I'm technically a Cahill. A Tomas."

"You?" Madison exclaimed. "A _Tomas?_"

David shrugged. "I may not look like much, but I got a black belt in karate when I was three."

"Dang," Dan murmured.

The Crusher headed for the door. "I'll let you all get introduced. David, show them where their rooms are, will you? I'll call you all later." The big man left the room.

David looked at Ian. "So...you're a Cahill? And Rebecca? And..." He looked at the others, his gaze passing over Amy, not recognizing her without the disguise. "Who are all of you?"

Natalie spoke up. "Well, you see, Rebecca isn't–"

"–isn't here right now," Ian interrupted.

Amy looked at him. "Ian, maybe we should just–"

"Wait, wait," Dan said. "How do we know we can trust–"

"Dan!" Reagan interrupted. "Mr. Crushen said–"

"I know, but..."

"Amy, do you really want this guy to know–"

"No, she doesn't!"

"I think I can make my own decisions, thank you."

Amy took a deep breath, stood, and said to David, "David, I'm Rebecca Forringer."

David's jaw dropped. "You? But you're, like, fifteen!"

"Seventeen!" Amy said indignantly. "And," she added, gesturing at Ian and Hamilton, "his name is Ian. Not Liam. And that's Hamilton. Not Emmet." She pointed at Dan. "He's my brother, Dan."

Amy was speaking quickly now, as if she expected to be interrupted. "Hamilton, Reagan, and Madison are Tomas, too. Natalie is Ian's sister. They're Lucian. And Dan and I..." She paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Dan and I are Madrigals."

David looked stunned by this sudden tidal wave of information. Finally, he managed to say, "_You're _Rebecca?"

Ian snorted. Dan facepalmed.

"A bit slow, this one," Natalie murmured to Reagan.

Amy shook her head firmly. "I'm not Rebecca," she said. "I'm Amy Cahill. We...we had a mission to be at your parents' party to try to find out information about the Vespers."

Amy turned to the others. "I guess Fiske didn't know that David is a Cahill, either."

David shook his head, finally seeming to recover the ability to function. "My grandpa has kept it quiet," he said. "I guess he didn't want me to be a target or anything."

Hamilton snorted. "I hate to break it to you, but you were almost a target anyway. Because of your dad."

David crossed his arms. "My loyalties aren't with my father," he said. "I know who he is. I know what he does. I'm 100% Cahill, not Vesper. I could never be one of them."

Madison mock-applauded him. "That...was...beautiful."

Ian rolled his eyes.

"So," David said, "let me show you your rooms." He held the door open, and the kids filed out.

Amy kept her head down as she walked past David, who watched her intently. Dan and Ian were right behind her, giving David identical glares for unidentical reasons.

When everyone was in the hallway, David waved at them to follow him. "Come on," he said. He led them down several winding halls.  
>The walls of the corridors were painted white, and the floors were a white tile. There were no windows, and Amy couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic.<p>

She glanced at Dan, who looked like he was breathing heavily. "Your inhaler," she murmured, pointing at the bulge in his right-hand pocket.

Dan gave her a grateful look and took a breath from his inhaler. He sighed and pocketed it again. "That's better," he whispered.

On Amy's other side, Natalie said disdainfully, "Who's in charge of the interior decorating here? Because they could use a few tips." She smirked. "Or a pair of glasses."

"Is this all there is to the stronghold?" Hamilton asked. "Just a bunch of corridors and rooms?"

David shook his head as they reached the end of the hallway. Two doors faced them. "Trust me, you've seen nothing...yet." With that, he pushed the doors open with a grand flourish.

The seven kids stepped out onto a balcony overlooking an enormous room.

"Whoa," Madison breathed. "Now _that's _awesome."

Seventy or so Tomas were down below them, in boxing rings, jumping off walls, swinging on equipment, and doing hundreds of other things that Dan could of (and had) only dreamed of.

Hamilton looked ready to jump down there and show his stuff. Reagan and Madison, too.

Natalie, Ian, and Amy just looked like they needed a decent meal and a nap.

After a short debate, the Holts were overruled. At first, Dan sided with them (after Hamilton promised to teach him some parkour tricks), but he finally opted for the food and rest. So the Cahills and Kabras followed David back out the double doors, the Holt kids grudgingly following.

They quickly forgot their annoyance, though, when David led them to the guest wing and gave them key cards to their rooms.

There were six rooms in the corridor—the twins were sharing, as they usually did. David told them that his room was right around the corner if they needed him, then left.

The kids looked at each other, then all put their key cards into the locks. The doors opened with harmonious beeping, and everyone entered their rooms.

Amy stepped across the threshold and gasped. A huge, plasma screen T.V. hung on the wall over an ornately-carved dresser. A king-sized bed sat in the center of the room, piled high with cushy pillows and a thick comforter.

Amy took another step, and felt her feet sink into the thick carpet. She closed the door and laughed out loud, throwing herself onto the bed.

Suddenly, she heard a phone ring. Looking up, Amy saw a portable phone sitting on the table by the bed. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Did you see the bathroom?" came her brother's excited voice over the line. "It's so cool!"

"I'll go look now." Amy rolled her eyes and hung up the phone. She walked across the room to the door that she assumed led to the bathroom. She opened it.

"Whoa," Amy breathed, stepping into the bathroom. The motion-sensing lights flickered on, lighting up a giant hot tub and shower. Amy turned on the shower, and discovered that it had ten different settings—from a gentle spray to a massage torrent.

The phone rang again, and Amy discovered another receiver by the toilet (which, she was almost surprised to discover, wasn't gold-plated). She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Isn't it awesome? Did you see, the toothbrushes are imported!"

Amy picked up a toothbrush that was lying by the sink. In small writing on the back was written _Made in China_. "Dan," Amy said, "I hate to disappoint you, but your toothbrush back at home was probably made in China, too."

"Oh." Dan was quiet for a second. Then he exclaimed, "There's a Bible on the bedside table! And I found chocolate on my pillow! And..."

"Goodbye, Dan," Amy said, laughing. She hung up the phone, wondering if she actually missed sharing a hotel room with her brother and watching him discover the small wonders that made him so excited.

Amy walked back into the bedroom and plopped onto the bed again. She found the Bible on the bedside table and picked it up.

The phone rang for the third time.

Amy picked it up with an annoyed sigh. "Yes, it's an amazing room! You can stop calling me now!"

"Well, if that's how you feel..." came Ian's voice over the line, "...I guess I'll hang up."

Amy whacked herself in the head with the Bible. "Ow! I mean, no, don't hang up! Sorry. I thought you were Dan. He called me twice already."

"I know," Ian said. "He called me to tell me that there was soap in the bathroom and that I should try it. Of course, I can't be sure it was Dan. The person said he was from the...what was it? The Hygiene of Lucians and other Sneaky Characters Association."

Amy snorted. "Sorry about that."

"No problem. I doubt he called Natalie. She would just tell him to take his soap and–"

"So!" Amy interrupted quickly, "I think today went pretty well, don't you?"

"Oh, most definitely," Ian said drily. "I think we made a real impact on David."

Amy paused. "Do you think we can trust him?"

"Well, _you _can trust him all you please."

"But you won't?"

"His father is a Vesper. He has Vesper blood. Whether or not his loyalties lie with the Cahills, well, loyalties can sway."

"So you're judging him because of his father."

"You could say that."

"And you're still telling me not to judge _you _because of your mother?"

There was a long silence over the line. Then a sigh.

"All right, all right. I see your point."

"So you'll give him a chance?"

"Fine. But I'll be watching him closely..."

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes had gone by before Ned's cell phone rang. The Starling boy was sitting in the lobby of the hotel Brad had checked into. He told the concierge that he was waiting for his girlfriend to come down, but he hoped Jonah would call soon, because the mustached man behind the reception desk had begun to eye him again.<p>

Finally, his cell phone rang. Ned flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Ned, it's Fiske," came the Madrigal's voice over the phone. "Listen up. I have an agent who lives near where you are, so I called him and told him the name of the hotel your guy is staying at. I need you to to wait in he lobby of that hotel. You'll see a man in a black fedora walk in. He will approach you, and greet you like a friend. He will give you enough money to stay at the hotel for the night and for a taxi ride back tomorrow."

"But why...?"

"It's late," Fiske said. "I don't want you taking a taxi back here tonight. Get a room, and get some sleep. The agent will also stay at the hotel. He's going to keep an eye on Brad."

"Okay," Ned said.

"Alright," Fiske said. "Sleep tight."

"Fiske?" Ned said suddenly.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Ned."

The two of them hung up.

* * *

><p>Fiske called Jonah back to let him knew that he had gotten through to Ned. Jonah hung up the phone and relayed the news to Sinead.<p>

Sinead sighed. "I'm still worried about Ted," she said. "I mean, if Ned is in Cape Cod, Ted could be _anywhere_."

Jonah stirred his mocha cappuccino. "You can't really get _anywhere _in only three hours," he said.

"You don't know my brothers." Sinead chuckled with no humor.

"I know that they're smart," Jonah said. "Like, way mega smart. And they can take care of themselves."

Sinead looked up at him. "You think so?"

Jonah broke out into one of his million-dollar grins. "'course I do! As we speak, Ted's probably on his way here with Nellie. _And _all the Vespers he knocked out while rescuing her!"

Sinead laughed—a real laugh this time. "I hope you're right," she said. "I really, really, hope he's okay..."

* * *

><p><strong>I HAVE AN EXCUSE. Well, kind of. First I had finals, then I had just started rehearsals for my summer show, and so I was really busy. I'll still be very busy this next month, but I'll try to update at least once every weekend.<strong>

**Response to Reviews:  
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**-CrimsonAuthor85: O.O Okay...I wouldn't want to anger the Ekats...  
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**-clara0414: Thanks for the corrections!  
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**-BluelikesPink: Excuse me while I go die of laughter. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  
><strong>

**-StuckInSpace: ...you didn't get the plov reference? Did you read Dead of Night?  
><strong>

**-jaime-annepardey: You don't have to read my author's notes if they annoy you. I'll make a note at the beginning if there's something really important that I want you all to read.  
><strong>

** Chocolates. Are. The. Best: Yes. I. Sort. Of. Am. ^.^ (love your username, but I had to put spaces in 'cause FF was being annoying)  
><strong>

**-Starlinglover: In actuality, I did know that, in actuality, I said in actuality like three times XD  
><strong>

**-CloverThyne: It's the curse of the Cahills.  
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**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love it how it's been so long, so I'm probably forcing those of you curious enough back to my review box to see what you had reviewed XD Sorry, guys...  
><strong>

**So as I said, I'll try to update at least once a week. I'm working on multiple fics now (even though I should be doing them one at a time), including the multi-chap I promised once SYB and CRF ended. Hopefully at least one of those will start being posted soon.  
><strong>

**Happy 4th of July!  
><strong>

**-KT  
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	33. Chapter 33

**Y'all might want to go back a chapter and re-read...just to refresh your memories...**

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><p>Ted woke up in the back of a van. His hands and ankles were bound together with gray duct tape.<p>

His mouth was parched, and he tried to lick his lips, but realized there was another piece if duct tape was covering his mouth.

The van hit a bump, and Ted went flying into a wall. He struggled to sit up and looked around.

He was in a moving van, from the looks of it. It was dimly lit where he was, although Ted couldn't tell where the light was coming from. The entire back was empty except for him. Through the wall behind him, he could hear men arguing loudly, but their words were muffled and he couldn't make out anything.

Suddenly, the van slowed to a stop. He heard two doors slam, and heard the sound of a lock clicking.

Making a split-second decision, Ted fell limp to the floor, feinting unconsciousness. Through slitted eyes, he could see a man in a T-shirt and Mets cap pulling up the door of the truck. Outside, the sun was just setting over the trees beyond.

"Hey, Marty," Ted heard the man call, "the kid's still unconscious."

"Drag 'im out, then," the other man replied. The truck rattled as the first man hopped inside and grabbed Ted's arms. The Ekaterina boy was dragged off the truck and slung over the man's shoulder.

Ted resisted wrinkling his nose. _Someone _needed a shower.

The man carried Ted down a short gravel path. At the end of the path was a small building, almost like a bunker.

The man stopped at the door. "Marty!" he called. "Where' the key?"

Ted heard the other man's footsteps crunch down the path. "You gave it to me, you dumb lug," the man called Marty growled.

Ted heard the click of a lock. The man who was carrying him opened the door, and with one heave, threw Ted inside the room.

Ted landed heavily on the stone floor. He bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain.

He felt the duck tape being ripped off of his mouth and from around his wrists and ankles.

Then door clanged shut again. Ted opened his eyes.

It was dark in the room. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that the room was empty—just four stone walls, a ceiling, and a floor. Along the bottom of one wall was a small grate blocked by four iron bars.

Then Ted heard a voice.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

Ted tried to reply, but his mouth was still parched. When he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

"Is anyone there?"

Ted licked his lips and tried again. "I'm here," he said, his voice raspy and hoarse. He cleared his throat and repeated, "Me. I'm here."

He heard a shuffling. Through the gray darkness, he saw a face appear at the grate over by the wall.

Ted gasped. "Nellie?"

Nellie's eyes lit up. "Ted! How did you get here?"

Ted pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed wearily. "We all went looking for you. My brother and sister, Jonah, and I. I went to talk to your professor. When I left, someone hit me from behind, and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in a van."

"So they got you, too," Nellie muttered. "I was half hoping you guys could get here without being knocked out and tied up in the process."

Ted clung to the bars of the grate. "Do you know where we are? Have you tried to escape?"

"No and no. Besides the fact that I'm pretty sure this is a Vesper hideout, I have no idea exactly where we are. As for trying to escape, well..." Nellie held up her wrists, which were bound together by a thick rope.

Ted gently touched her wrists through the bars, and Nellie winced visibly. Raw, red marks circled her wrists from where the ropes had dug in.

"They didn't tie you up?" Nellie asked, trying to cover up her pain from the rope burns.

Ted shook his head. "I guess they thought I'd be unconscious for awhile," he said. "I pretended to still be knocked out when they unloaded me from the van."

Nellie's face was thoughtful. "I woke up in here. But they kept me tied up." Her brow furrowed. "Weird."

Ted shrugged. "Maybe they see you as more of a threat than me," he joked halfheartedly.

Nellie didn't look convinced, but she didn't argue.

"So," Ted said, a glint in his eye, "how are we going to break out of here?"

* * *

><p>Reagan woke up in a strange bed. She looked around, confused. It took her a minute to remember.<p>

_Right,_ she thought. _Tomas stronghold. South Africa._

She sat up and stretched. In the bed next to her, Madison was snoring soundly.

Reagan checked the clock by her bed. 7:15 AM. She was probably the only one awake of her companions.

She slid silently out of bed, then realized there was no point in trying to be quiet. Madison was out cold (except for the snoring, of course).

Reagan changed into a tank top and shorts, stuffed her room key into her pocket, and went out the door.

Trying to remember their tour with David Dhine the day before, she navigated through the hallways until she reached the double doors leading to the gym. She pushed the doors open and stepped out onto the small balcony.

She had expected the gym to be empty, and she was mostly right. The boxing rings were deserted. The rock wall was empty.

But one small figure was circling a punching bag hanging from the ceiling, kicking it and punching it and yelling, "Hi-YAH!"

Reagan snorted. Dan.

Suddenly, the person punched the bag hard, making it swing around, hitting him on the back and knocking him flat.

Reagan snorted. She leaned on the railing of the balcony and called, "And the winner is...the punching bag!"

Dan looked up from the floor. "How long have you been there?" he asked.

Reagan grinned. "Long enough to see you get beat up by a punching bag," she said. She straddled the railing on the staircase leading to the gym floor and slid down.

She jumped off the railing when she reached the bottom, and walked over to Dan. The Madrigal boy was getting to his feet, groaning.

"Please don't tell my sister," he pleaded. "If she knew, she would stop believing that I'm a super-skilled ninja." He ducked as the punching bag, still in motion, swung over his head.

Reagan caught the bag, holding it still.

Dan glared at the punching bag. Then he looked back at Reagan. "I didn't know punching bags could fight back," he said, shrugging.

Reagan laughed. "Anything can fight if you give it a push," she said.

_Wow_, she thought, _that sounded deep_.

Dan nodded towards the punching bag. "So, you think you can beat it?"

Reagan smirked. "Watch me."

She tied her hair up into a ponytail. Dan started to hand her the boxing gloves he had been wearing, but she gave him an, _Are you serious?_look.

Dan dropped the gloves.

Reagan faced the bag. She gave it an experimental punch, and it swung forward and back. Reagan moved left as it swung past her.

On its way back, Reagan kicked it away, sending it spinning around her.

Dan, who was sitting on a bench nearby, scoffed. "That's it?" he asked.

Reagan didn't look at him, but she let a small smiled creep onto her lips. As the bag swung towards her, she jumped into the air and did a roundhouse kick to send it in the other direction. Then (she _did _love showing off) she executed a gold medal handspring, landing in the bag's line of fire. She gave it a punch that would've stopped a locomotive in its tracks. (It also would've destroyed any regular punching bag, but the Tomas were prepared for locomotive-stopping punches.)

The punching bag swung around and came at her from behind.

Reagan was ready.

With a loud, "YAH!" she backflipped, giving the bag a powerful kick. She landed on her feet as the bag was pushed in the opposite direction. The chains holding it to the ceiling rattled, and the bag circled around Reagan, not touching her.

Reagan calmly stepped away from the bag as it circled to a stop. Glowing with pride, she turned to Dan.

Dan's jaw was hanging open. His green eyes were wide as he stared at Reagan.

He finally spoke. "That. Was. Awesome."

Reagan found herself blushing. She wasn't used to compliments. In her family, somehing like that was, well, nothing. Eisenhower rarely gave praise, and Hamilton and Madison were always doing feats that made the things Reagan did dull in comparison.

She wasn't used to impressing anybody. But right then, Dan looked like he was about to ask her for her autograph.

Reagan looked at the floor. "It was nothing," she mumbled, not trying to be modest.

"Are you kidding me?" Dan stood up from the bench and walked over to her. "Reagan, that was amazing!"

"So it was."

Dan and Reagan looked up. The Crusher was standing on the balcony, leaning against the railing.

Dan felt a deja-vu moment coming on.

"Mr. Crushen!" Reagan exclaimed. "How long have you been there?"

Yup. Deja-vu.

"Long enough. I saw your whole routine with the punching bag."

Reagan was startled. "Routine?"

The Tomas leader descended the steps. "You have considerable talent, young lady," he said sternly, coming to stand in front of Reagan.

Reagan looked at the floor again. "My...my brother and sister are a lot better than me," she mumbled.

The Crusher shook his head. "In certain skills, perhaps," he mused, "but you, my dear, posses a great deal of—is there any other way to put it?—grace."  
>Reagan looked up at the man. "Grace? Me?"<p>

"I have sources that inform me that you show an interest in ballet," Mr. Crushen said.

Reagan saw, out of the corner of her eye, Dan give a visible start.

Reagan blushed. "It's not...it's not something I openly advertise," she muttered.

The Crusher crossed his massive arms. "Don't be fooled," he said. "Some dimwits may believe that ballet is for the Janus. Ha!"

Mr. Crushen kneeled down so he was eye-level with Reagan. "Did you know that I was with the Russian ballet for five years?" he asked.

Reagan and Dan gaped at him. "You were?" Reagan asked.

The huge man nodded. "Ballet takes strength and skill," he said. "Sure, some of the Janus can pull it off. But the best of the ballet dancers—those are the Tomas."

"Wow." Reagan was dumbstruck. All this time, she had kept her love of ballet a secret from her family, knowing that they would think she was a sissy. But Mr. Crushen had just put to words the things she had always felt—that ballet was more than just tutus and tights.

Mr. Crushen stood up, looking at her thoughtfully. "I have some work to do in my office," he said. "I suggest you wake your companions and call for breakfast. Then meet me in my office."

The Crusher turned and jogged up the stairs. Then he was gone.

* * *

><p>Sinead was in her room, playing KenKen on her laptop.<p>

The Ekat girl sighed as she won her fifth game in a row. This was getting boring.

She pushed back from her desk and got up, then left her room. She went downstairs and into the den.

Jonah was sitting on a couch, talking on his cell phone. Sinead sat across from him and picked up a magazine, pretending not to listen:

"I don't know, mom," Jonah was saying. "After all this time...I don't know if I still have it in me."

He paused. "Well, sure I do, but...yo, hear me out, I think it's fly and all, but all that shiz ain't gonna work if I can't crack it like I used to..."

Sinead could tell he was getting agitated—he was slipping back into gangsta mode.

Jonah was silent for awhile. Finally, he said, "I guess...I could try."

Pause.

"Yeah. Sure. That sounds cool. Aright, later." He hung up the phone and looked at Sinead

Sinead was holding the magazine in front of he face.

"Did you hear that?" he asked her.

Sinead lowered her magazine a little. "Hear what?"

"That conversation," Jonah said.

"Oh, when you were talking to your mom about not wanting to do something that you hadn't done in awhile and you didn't think you could do anymore but you finally agreed to?"

"Yeah."

"Nope, didn't hear a thing." She lifted the magazine again.

Jonah stood up and reached over for the magazine, which Sinead realized was upside down. Jonah pulled it out of her hands and turned it right side up, then put it back in her hands.

Sinead blushed. "Uh, right," she said.

"You do know that's one of Natalie's _Vogue _magazines?" Jonah asked, grinning.

Sinead let out a yelp and dropped the magazine onto the coffee table. Jonah laughed.

"Okay, okay," Sinead said, "so maybe I heard a little of what you were saying. Um, what was that all about, anyway?"

Jonah sat back on the couch with a thump. "My mom thinks it would be good if I had another concert. She says she can send some Janus agents to look for Nellie, but she can't afford to let them go unless they can get a little extra money." He scowled. "As if they didn't have enough money."

"So are you going to do it?" Sinead asked.

Jonah shrugged. "I guess," he said. "It'll be good to have those Janus agents on the case. We need as much help as we can to find Nellie."

"And Ted," Fiske said, entering the room.

Sinead quickly stood. "You haven't heard from him yet?" she asked.

Fiske shook his head gravely. "I'm afraid we must say that Ted has gone missing as well."

Sinead let out a moan and collapsed back onto the couch, her head in her hands.

Jonah stood up and went to sit next to her. "It'll be alright, Sinead," he said. "I'll have my concert, and we'll have a whole army of Janus agents looking for Ted and Nellie."

Sinead didn't answer.

Jonah didn't like seeing her like this. "Tell you what," he said quickly. "How about you come to my concert? You can hang out backstage and everything."

Sinead looked up at him, and, seeing the anxious look on his face, smiled a little, just to put him at ease. "Thanks, Jonah, but I don't think–"

"Aw, c'mon, cuz," Jonah said. "I need some company besides my backup dancers and makeup crew."

Sinead hesitated, then said, "Okay. Sure. I'll come."

Jonah grinned. "Cool. I'm going to go to my room to rehearse," he said. "Later."

He left the room. Fiske gave Sinead one last worried look before leaving too.

Sinead lay back on the couch. Her heart ached.

_Ted, where are you?_

* * *

><p>"Do you have a bobby pin on you?" Ted asked Nellie.<p>

Nellie tried to maneuver her bound hands to her pocket and failed. She huffed in frustration.

"Hang on," Ted said. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a Swiss Army knife.

"Whoa, hold up," Nellie said. "They left your knife in your pocket?"

Ted gave a start, just realizing this. "Um...yeah, I guess. Maybe they forgot to search me."

Nellie nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe." But she didn't look convinced.

Reaching though the bars of the grate, he used the knife to cut through the rope bonding Nellie's hands.

Nellie flexed her wrists and shook her hands. "That's much better," she said. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a bobby pin. "Here."  
>Ted took the pin from her. "If I can just get the right ingredients," he mused, "I can use this pin to construct a small bomb with just the correct amount of chemical crioxide to create an implosion, triggering a chemical reaction that will have a sufficiant amount of magnitude to...'<p>

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Nellie said. "You lost me at 'ingredients'." She raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you just try to pick the lock?" she asked.

Ted's face reddened. "Right," he mumbled. "Just pick the lock." He stood up and went to the door.

Nellie pressed her face to the grate and watched.

Ted stuck the bobby pin into the keyhole and twiddled it around. He tried for several minutes, both he and Nellie straining to hear the click that meant he had done it.

Finally, he groaned in frustration. "I can't do it," he said, putting his hand on the doorknob. "See? It's still locked..." He turned the knob.

To their surprise, the knob turned easily in his hand. They gave each other astonished looks, then Ted slowly pushed the door open.

Bright sunlight streamed into the cell, making them squint. Ted peeked out the door. "The coast is clear," he said. "No guards, no cameras—nothing."

He heard a thump as Nellie jumped to her feet and ran to the door of her cell. There was a sudden rattling, then silence.

"Mine is locked," Nellie groaned, appearing at the grate again.

Ted looked out the door again, tasting freedom on his tongue. But he hesitated. Could it really be that easy?

Nellie saw his hesitation. "Go on," she said. "Go get help. I'll be fine here."

Ted looked at her, then back at the door.

He knew he should go. But something just didn't feel right about this.

* * *

><p>Ned was in the front lobby of the hotel, waiting for his taxi to arrive. The evening before, a tall man in a black fedora had come up to him and said heartily, "Ned! How are you doing?"<p>

Ned had looked up at the man. He plastered a fake smile onto his face and said, "Great, thanks. And you?"

To make a long, awkward conversation short, the man had handed Ned a wallet.

"You left it at my place last week," the man said as an explanation.

Ned had never seen the wallet in his life, but when he opened it, he found a fifty-dollar bill.

When he had looked up again, the man had disappeared.

Ned had gotten a room for the night, and in the morning he called for a taxi to take him back to Boston.

He saw the yellow cab pull up in front of the hotel. Ned quickly got up and went outside.

He went to the passenger-side window, which had slid open.

"Albert Newell?" the taxi driver asked, peering at a slip of paper in his hands.

"Yeah," Ned replied, sliding into the backseat. He had figured it would be safer to give the taxi company a false name, in case Vespers knew him as a Cahill and were watching the order list.

The cabbie started the engine, and they drove off.

* * *

><p>About an hour and a half later, the taxi cab was caught in a traffic.<p>

Ned tried to look around the mess of cars in front of them. "I wonder what the holdup is," he wondered out loud.

"I see emergency lights," the cabbie said.

Several minutes later, they passed by the accident scene. Surrounded by police cars, a long, black stretch limo was crushed into the safety railing. On the side facing the road, Ned could see small holes in the door—bullet holes?

Ned knocked on the dividing glass between him and the cabbie. "Driver," he said, "an extra five dollars on arrival if you can find out what happened here."

"Keep your money," the driver said. "I'm a little curious myself."

There was a policeman directing traffic around the scene, so the cabbie stopped by him and rolled down the window. "Excuse me, officer," he said. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

The policeman looked exhausted. "I suppose it'll be on the news anyway," he said.

Ned rolled down his window. "Who was in the limo?" he asked.

"Just a couple of rich kids taking their parents' car for a joyride," the officer said. "A brother and sister. Luckily, neither of them were hurt. The kids said that they were driving down the highway when a black sedan pulled up next to them. A man rolled down the sedan's window and and called to the kids. They rolled down their window, and the man asked them who was in the limo. The kids thought it would be funny to tell him that Jonah Wizard was in the back."

"Jonah Wizard?" the cabbie exclaimed.

An uncomfortable feeling started to creep into Ned's stomach. "Go on," he said to the officer.

The policeman sighed. "The kids said that when they said Jonah Wizard, the backseat window of the sedan rolled down, and the butt of a machine gun pointed at them. The boy, who was driving, jerked the wheel over, and the guy in the backseat open-fired. The limo crashed into the safety rail, and the bullets hit the door. The sedan drove away, and the girl called 911."

The officer sighed again. "We're trying to track the sedan," he said, "but it doesn't look like we'll catch them."

"Wow," the cabbie said.

"Yeah," said the officer. "If I were Jonah Wizard, I'd watch my back."

Ned knocked on the divider again. "Can we get going?" he asked. "I need to get home, _now_."

"No problem," the cabbie said, pulling the taxi back onto the road. Now that they were past the accident (although now Ned didn't see it as much of an accident), the driving was faster.

He had to get home. He had to tell Jonah.

The Vespers were onto him.

* * *

><p><strong>I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO TIMES A THOUSAND TIMES SORRY.<strong>

**I knew I'd be busy during the week, but I had no idea how packed my weekends would be, which is why I haven't updated in, like, a month.  
><strong>

**In other news, yay! I updated! XD  
><strong>

**Oh, and you know how originally I said there was going to be Dan/Reagan in this story? Well, a few people were excited about it, some here a bit hesitant, and a small few were disgusted. But now I ship Dan/Molly (those of you on the message board know who I'm talking about), so I think whatever goes on between Dan and Reagan in this story will be purely friendship. So yeah.  
><strong>

**Response to Reviews:  
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**-clara0414: Yeah, I think I kind of ship Sinilton. Not a lot, but it's nice. And thanks for pointing the repetition of "sat." I'll try to go fix it, if I remember after this...**

**-JesseCPK: No one knows how often I update...sometimes it's a week, sometimes it's a month...you shall never know...BWWAHAHAHAHAHA**

**-SlytherinGurrl: Hey no offense taken. I tried doing a recap once, but then I figured it doesn't really take much to just go back and skim the last chapter to remind yourself, y'know?  
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** .3: I have no idea what happened with Dan in the library...one of the reasons why I'm bad at planing out my writing...  
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**-marianhelena: Do I have any sane readers? Honestly...JUST KIDDING I LOVE CRAZY READERS THEY'RE THE BEST KIND. 3  
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**-hollysta1: If you emailed this story to Rick Riordan/Scholastic, you'd probably receive an automatic email that says, "Dear hollysta1, Thank you for your email, _OMG READ THIS STORY IT'S AMAZING. _Unfortunately, it is not what we're looking for at the moment. Thank you very much and have a nice life." But it's a nice thought, thanks.  
><strong>

**-HappinessBook: Where's Saladin? Hmm...let me see...  
><strong>

**Saladin: Mrrp?  
><strong>

**There he is! ^.^  
><strong>

**-PinkGoesWithEverything: IT'S THE PAINTED LADY OF RANDOMNESS! ^.^ I'm gonna try to reply to everything you said in one list:  
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***I haven't watched OUaT  
><strong>

***I don't have time to write my own book I barely have time to write fanfiction let's be reasonable here  
><strong>

***Ugh I want to watch Doctor Who so bad :(  
><strong>

**Oh, wow. I thought that list would be longer. Okay...  
><strong>

**-HappinessBook: David's password was irrelevant. Ted (it was Ted, right? or was it Ned...ew, I don't even know my own story...this just got awkward...) just figured out a way to hack into his email.  
><strong>

**-The Ultimate Artist: I UPDATED! PLEASE STOP CRYING!  
><strong>

**-khbr23hw: YAY! ANOTHER CRAZY REVIEWER! (P.S. Take that as a compliment...)**

**Let me just say, I only replied to a fraction of the wonderful reviews I get, but even though I doubt half of you even read these author notes, neither of us have time to reply to and read everyone's reviews, so yeah. But thank you to all who reviewed! I love you all with all my heart! (Except the few trolls who lurk around here. They can leave)**

**GUYS LESS THAN A MONTH UNTIL SHATTERPROOF ASDFGHJKL WHO'S EXCITED?  
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**Okay, I think that's it for now. I'm not gonna promise to update at any time because we know it won't come true (besides, I'm going on vacation next week, and I still have summer reading to do, so...)**

**Enjoy the rest of your summers! (and for those of you already in school...may the odds be ever in your favors...)  
><strong>

**-KT  
><strong>


	34. Chapter 34

**Go back and re-read if you don't remember anything. Is it really that hard to do?**

**Btw I don't own anything**

* * *

><p>The seven kids met at Hamilton's room from breakfast.<p>

Why Hamilton's room?

Because he was the only one not answering his phone.

"Hamilton! Wake up!" Madison and Reagan yelled through their older brother's door.

There was no response.

"Ham!" Dan shouted.

Still no response.

Ian banged on the door.

Silence.

The kids looked at each other. "One," Amy said softly, "two, three..."

"HAMILTON HOLT!" the kids screamed.

There was a muffled thump. The door swung open. "Did you guys say something?" Hamilton asked drowsily, rubbing his eyes.

Natalie brushed past Hamilton and entered his room. Wrinkling her nose and kicking aside a pair of dirty shorts that were laying on the floor lying, she went to the phone and dialed the number David had given them the night before.

"Hello, room service?" she asked as the rest of the kids filed into Hamilton's room.

Hamilton collapsed onto his bed again.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, the kids were finishing up their breakfasts that they had ordered. Even Hamilton found the strength (then again, he <em>was <em>a Holt) to sit up and steal a waffle from Dan's plate.

There was suddenly a knock at the door. Amy put down her plate of scrambled eggs and went to the door.

David was standing outside. "Um, hi," he said.

"H-hi," Amy stammered uncomfortably.

David stood there awkwardly for a minute. Amy finally said, "Did you, um, want s-something?"

"Oh. Right. Can I come in?"

Amy held open the door, and David stepped inside. "Morning, everyone," he said.

"Hey."

"Hello."

"'sup?"

"Hmph."

"Mfgh."

The second to last was Ian, who mumbled his greeting beyond recognition. The last was Hamilton, who had stolen another one of Dan's waffles and stuffed it into his mouth.

An awkward silence filled the room (besides the sound of Hamilton chewing).

Dan finally realized that David was going to need a bit of urging to get out whatever he wanted to say.

"So," Dan said, "when does the stakeout start?"

David checked his watch. "Right now, if you're ready," he said. "We'll have to take shifts. It's 9:00 now."

"We can have three hour shifts," Madison said. "So first shift is from 9:00 to 12:00."

Amy spoke up from where she was standing by the door. "I can take first shift," she said. "I'm more of a morning person," she added as Hamilton let out a jaw-breaking yawn, "than some people."

"So who'll go with you?" Natalie asked.

"I will," Dan said quickly. He stood up and went to stand by his sister. "We'll take the shift," he said. "Tell us the location."

David, who looked like he was about to volunteer to team up with Amy, spoke the address of the house.

"Let me write it down for you," he said, turning to look for a piece of paper and pencil.

"That's alright," Dan said, tapping his head. "I've got it."

David gave Dan a curious look. "Are you sure? Better safe than..."

"I've got a photographic memory," Dan said. "_I've got it_."

David looked amazed. "Wow," he said. "A photographic memory? That's amazing."

"I know," Dan said. "I'm amazing."

He took a bow. Reagan, Madison, Natalie, Hamilton, and Ian all looked at each other, each grabbed a pillow off of Hamilton's bed, and flung them at the boy.

"Gah!" Dan yelled as the pillows hit him.

"Ack!" Amy exclaimed as a couple of rogue pillows hit her.

Everyone laughed, except David, who just shook his head.

"You guys are crazy," he said, smiling a little. He turned to Amy and Dan. "You two better get going," he said. "We'll figure out the rest of the shifts."

"Okay," Dan said. "Later."

"Good luck," Hamilton called after them.

Amy and Dan went out the door and closed it behind them.

The room was silent for a moment. Suddenly, the door banged open again. Dan and Amy dashed inside, grabbed the pillows still lying on the floor, and chucked them at the others.

"Eek!"

"Ah!"

"Gah!"

"Wha!"

"Ack!"

The siblings ran out of the room laughing.

* * *

><p>Sinead Starling never imagined she would ever walk down a red carpet.<p>

Not counting the one in her family's living room, of course.

Many young girls have the dreams of walking down the red carpet, blowing kisses to fans and smiling for the cameras.

When Sinead was a young girl, she had the dream of designing a walkway to the moon.

But there she was, climbing out of a ridiculously long stretch limo in ridiculously tall high heels in a ridiculously slinky dress.

The whole thing was ridiculous.

And then there was Jonah.

Sinead had insisted she would be fine going in through the stage door. But _no_, Jonah didn't think she would start feeling better until she walked the red carpet.

Why the red carpet for Jonah's concert?

Apparently, Jonah's "comeback" was a HUGE deal. A big star disappears from the face of the Earth, then suddenly shows up again three years later?

The concert sold out in five minutes.

Of course, Jonah was in all of his gangsta glory. About a dozen chains adorned his neck. His cap was on sideways, and he was wearing a black muscle shirt and ripped jeans.

The earring in his ear sparkled from the flashes of the cameras going off left and right. Sinead squinted in the bright lights, and nearly tripped in her heels.

One of Jonah's stylists had done her up.

"Honey," the woman had said to Sinead, snapping her gum, "I'm gonna bring out the real you."

After seeing the results, Sinead preferred the "fake her" better.

A lot of girls would probably die to be her, but Sinead felt like she was going to die from just being there. Her hair was done so her auburn hair tumbled down her back. Her dress was emerald green, not unlike the one Amy wore before, and her heels...well, Sinead figured they could double for torture devices if need be.

"Yo...wassup...word..." Jonah's drawl rang out over the screaming girls and the reporters' questions:

"Jonah! Where have you been these past three years?"

"Is this your final concert, or can we expect more from you?"

"Jonah, at eighteen, do you feel the need to move onto something bigger?"

Oh, and Sinead's favorite:

"Jonah! Who's the girl? Family or girlfriend?"

For once, Jonah ignored the reporters' questions. Flocked by several bodyguards, he an Sinead made their way past the screaming fans and reporters to the main building where the concert was to be held.

_Jonah lives such an alternate life from mine,_ Sinead thought. _All my life, I was taught to keep to the shadows. To not be seen by other Cahills._

She glanced at Jonah, who was waving to his father. Broderick Wizard had appeared in the building's main hall, his Blackberry nowhere in sight. Jonah ran to him and father and son embraced.

Sinead kept a respectful distance, and thought, _Jonah's the exact opposite. He lives for the spotlight. The whole world watches every move he makes. And yet..._

Broderick looked up and saw the Ekat girl standing aside. "Sinead Starling?" he asked.

Sinead nodded, wondering how Broderick felt about the Ekaterina. She knew that the man wasn't a real Cahill; he had just married one. But prejudices can run deep.

The man's face broke into a smile. "Great to see you," he said. "First time at a Jonah concert?"

Sinead nodded.

"What?" Jonah exclaimed, half-jokingly. "You've never gone to my concerts?"

Sinead snorted. "My parents would have to pay a second mortgage on our house just to buy one ticket. No offense," she added hastily. "It's really nice to be here."

Jonah grinned. "Really nice? More like _da bomb!_"

* * *

><p>A crinkling sounded by Amy's ear. She looked over at her brother, who was unwrapping a chocolate bar.<p>

"What are you doing?" she whispered as he lifted the chocolate to his mouth.

Dan paused, the candy an inch from his lips. "I only had two waffles at breakfast," he said in a low voice. "Hamilton stole the others. I'm hungry!"

"Dan. We have another two and a half hours here. The chocolate's going to make you hyper."

Dan shrugged and took a bite out of the chocolate bar.

Amy sighed and looked through her binoculars at the house across the street.

The two Cahills were hiding in some thick bushes outside the building across the road from the large house belonging to Ramon Vacardez.

So far, they had seen two maids, one cleaning crew, three men in suits and ties, and one woman in a dress enter the house. But no one had left the house, and no one was seen matching the description of Vacardez that Mr. Crushen had given the siblings; black, greasy hair, black eyes, tall and thin, with a Russian accent.

"Figures," Dan had grumbled. "There always has to be a bad guy with a Russian accent."

But he and his sister both knew that the other was thinking of Irina Spasky, the Lucian who had been the bad guy, then sacrificed herself to save their lives.

This was different.

"Do you see that guy?" Dan hissed, spewing chocolate as he spoke.

Amy wiped a piece of chocolate off of her shirt and looked out onto the street. A man in ragged clothing was walking towards the Vacardez house, carrying a violin case.

"Dude!" Dan whispered. "This is _so _CIA!"

"What?"

"He obviously has a machine gun in there!" Dan said excitedly. "Or some other cool weapon!"

The two siblings watched as the man approached the house. He stopped at the curb in front of the house and opened his case.

He pulled out a violin.

"Dang it," Dan muttered. "He's just a street musician."

The man started playing a simple tune, his bow dipping over the strings.

Suddenly, a door slammed. Dan nudged his sister. "Look!" he whispered.

A man was storming down the from walk of the big house, holding a rifle. He shouted something in Russian, which Dan figured was something like, "Get off my curb, you filthy street beggar!"

The violinist jumped off the curb, grabbed his case, and dashed down the street. The Russian man went back towards the house, muttering to himself and waving his arms around.

"That's him," Amy whispered. "Vacardez."

"Nice guy," Dan said drily, watching the man slam the door behind him. "So, what exactly do we need to do again?"

"Mr. Chrushen said that a well-known Vesper would be visiting Vacardez," Amy said. "So...we're waiting for him."

"But a dozen people have already gone into the house!" Dan exclaimed. "What if the Vesper is one of them?"

"We're only supposed to call in if Vacardez leaves with someone. But we also need to keep track of everyone who enters."

Dan tapped the side of his head. "I go it." He began unwrapping another chocolate bar.

Amy sighed. This was going to be a long stake-out.

* * *

><p>Ted was in a taxi, halfway to Attleboro, when he saw the tracking device.<p>

After a lot of urging from Nellie, he had finally escaped the cell. He then followed the road until he flagged down a taxi.

But in the back of his mind Ted still didn't believe that it should have been that easy.

The was when he discovered the tracking device.

The taxi had gone over a bump, and Ted shifted a little. Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. A tiny square device, no bigger that his thumbnail, was attached to the back of his shirt.

Ted's heart stopped. The Vespers could track him all the way back to Attleboro if he left it on!

Swiftly, Ted rolled down the backseat window. He was about to chuck the device out, but he paused.

_No_, he thought, _destroying it would just send the Vespers after me._He needed to get the Vespers off his trail.

Ted watched as a beat up Toyota Camry drove across the next lane over. All the windows were open, despite the frigid Massachusetts winter, and the stereo was on full blast.

Ted smiled. He aimed, then tossed the tracking device through the Camry's open back window.

The driver of the Camry didn't see the projectile land in his backseat. He took the exit, heading towards Newport.

Ted let himself feel victory for a moment. Then he sobered.

The Vespers still had Nellie. But at least now he knew how to get to her.

"Can you speed it up?" he asked the driver. "I need to get home, right away."

* * *

><p>Ned walked tiredly down the long driveway of the mansion. He had the taxi drop him off about a half a mile away, just in case. He walked the last half mile, and he was tired.<p>

Fiske was waiting for him at the door.

"Ned!" the man said. "I'm so glad to see that you're okay!"

"Where's Jonah?" Ned asked urgently. "And my brother and sister?"

A pained expression crossed Fiske's face. "Jonah and Sinead are in New York," he started.

"New York!"

Fiske nodded. "Jonah's mother agreed to give her agents to search for Nellie and...well, if Jonah gave another concert to pay for Janus funds."

Ned scowled. "That greedy, selfish...Fiske, Jonah's in danger. Where's my brother?"

Fiske opened his mouth, then paused.

"Where's my brother?" Ned demanded again. "Where's Ted?"

Suddenly, there was a crunch of gravel behind Ned and Fiske.

"I'm right here, you dork," said a voice.

"Ted!" Fiske exclaimed. "How...?"

Ned looked back and forth between Fiske and his brother as Ted approached them. "What's going on here?" Ned asked.

"Ted went missing yesterday," Fiske said.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't want you to worry," Fiske said. "Ted, where have you been?"

Ted pushed his glasses up his nose. "The Vespers kidnapped me."

"What?" Fiske and Ned exclaimed.

Ted quickly told them about being knocked out at BU and finding Nellie, then how he escaped.

"Just like that?" Ned asked. "The door was unlocked and you just walked out?"

"There was a tracking device on me," Ted said. "I discovered it in the taxi on my way here." He told them how he threw it into the Camry, then took the taxi close to the mansion and walked the rest of the way home.

"Could you find the place again?" Fiske asked.

Ted nodded. "I was in the truck on the way there, but I saw everything while I was escaping. It's not far from here."

"I'm calling some Madrigal agents to come here," Fiske said, pulling out his cell phone. "You can show them the place. Hopefully, we can get Nellie back in time..." He trailed off, then looked at Ned. "You said that Jonah's in danger. Why?"

Ned quickly told him about the accident-that-wasn't-an-accident that he saw earlier. "Some guy shot the limo because he thought Jonah was in it," he said.

To the brothers' surprise, Fiske's face relaxed. "Oh," he said, "there are probably hundreds of groups out there who want to kill Jonah Wizard."

"_What?_" the boys said in disbelieving unison.

Fiske shrugged. "It's the sad truth. But that doesn't mean that they were Vespers." He started into the house. "Believe me," he called over his shoulder, "Jonah's probably in one of the safest places he could be right now." The Madrigal disappeared into the house to make his calls.

"Where's Jonah?" Ted asked.

"New York," Ned said, staring after Fiske. "So is Sinead."

"Oh, god," Ted muttered.

Ned looked at Ted. "It was Vespers," he said. "I know it."

Ted nodded. "I believe you. But what can we do? We can't go to New York."

Ned pulled out his cell phone. "I'll try calling Sinead." He pressed 2 to speed-dial his sister, but it sent him directly to voice message.

Ned left a message. "Sis, it's Ned. I'm back at the mansion. Call me ASAP." He hung up.

"No answer?"

Ned shook his head. "I'll try Jonah." He dialed Jonah's cell phone number and waited.

He hung up a minute later. "No answer," he said disgustedly. The brothers looked at each other, the same thought popping into their heads.

"I need to go to New York," Ned said.

Ted nodded. "I'd go with you, but I need to help the agents find Nellie."

Ned nodded. They stood there for a minute.

"Well," Ned finally said, "I better go pack a bag."

"Yeah," his brother said. Ted held out his hand. "Well...good luck."

Ned shook his brother's hand. "Be careful, will you?" he asked. "I don't want to be twins with Sinead. I need a brother."

Ted grinned. "You got it."

Ned went inside, and Ted waited outside for the Madrigal agents.

* * *

><p><strong>So...my school starts tomorrow, and I decided to get a chapter in before I get caught up in schoolwork and everything.<strong>

**Response to Reviews:  
><strong>

**-khbr23hw: Dan would totally win in a ninja fight against me. Hands-down.  
><strong>

**-clara0414: Yes, I know Ted is blind. However, if you'd look back to the beginning of the story, you'd see that Ted got surgery and now can see well with glasses.  
><strong>

**-JesseCPK: Duct tape is epic XD Oh, and KenKen is like a math puzzle.  
><strong>

**-PercabethandDeaganrulz: I'm sorry that you're "blot" going to continue this story. Bye!  
><strong>

**-Hiker Writer: Thanks for the corrections. I'll try to go back and fix them.  
><strong>

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed!  
><strong>

**So I'm starting to think that I shouldn't even say what ships are gong to be in this story, because I honestly don't know. I said I wasn't going to do Deagan, but who knows? It might come back. It might seem like it's Jonead, then BAM. It's not. So I'm not going to say anything. Just read and see.  
><strong>

**Um, except Amian. Y'all already know that it's gonna be Amian.  
><strong>

**Speaking of Amian, those of you who have accounts on the 39 Clues website, go log on now. ON the bottom left-hand corner of the main page, you'll see a poll asking who you think Amy should end up with. VOTE FOR IAN.  
><strong>

**That was my little public service announcement of the day.  
><strong>

**Also, for those of you who don't know who Molly is, she's someone that one of the moderators on the 39C website made up or something. "Ian" made a post saying that Dan had gotten a letter in the mail, and it was from this girl named Molly who went to Dan's school and who was asking if Dan wanted to go to a dance with her, if he returned to school in time. She ended with, "I know you don't like to dance, but I bet you'd look cute in a suit."  
><strong>

**Then, y'know, a lot of people were like, "She's a Vesper!" but I was like, "ASDFGHKL THAT'S SO ADORABLE!"  
><strong>

**Anyway, someone decided that her last name is Ridgewall, so we now call the ship Ridgehill.  
><strong>

**All right, I think that's all for now. Wish me luck at school XP  
><strong>

**-KT  
><strong>

**P.S. Shatterproof was amazing and made me cry  
><strong>


	35. Chapter 35

**Just to show how completely sorry I am and how entirely aware I am of what dirt I am for not updating in, like, four months, I'm going to give y'all a short recap, even though you guys know I don't like doing that and usually just make you all read back.**

**-Amy, Dan, the Kabras, and the Holts are in South Africa at the Tomas stronghold.**

**-Nellie was kidnapped by the Vespers.**

**-Ned followed a suspected kidnapper of Nellie and ended up in Cape Cod.  
><strong>

**-Ted was kidnapped by the Vespers too, but on the trip back he discovered that someone was out to kill Jonah.  
><strong>

**-Jonah and Sinead are in New York at a comeback concert Jonah promised to give so his mom would send Janus agents to help look for Nellie.  
><strong>

**-Still no Amian kiss.  
><strong>

**-No clear sign of any other ships sailing either.  
><strong>

**-We know of a person called The Surveyor who seems to be the leader of the Vespers (basically V1, but I wrote this before the Medusa Plot, so...)  
><strong>

**-There is a suspected Vesper near the Tomas stronghold and Amy and Dan are staking out the house.  
><strong>

**-And Dan is, well...just read.**

* * *

><p>Dan was bored, bored, <em>bored<em>.

He and Amy had spent two hours, fifty-seven minutes, and twenty-three...twenty-four...twenty-five...seconds, watching Vacardez's house.

Dan and Amy hadn't seen the Vesper since he had gone out to chase the street musician. Now Amy was counting leaves on the bush, and Dan was poking at some pebbles on the ground.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind Dan and covered his mouth. Dan tried to yell, but the hand muffled the sound.  
>A familiar voice hissed into his ear, "Stop squirming, you idiot! It's just me!"<p>

Dan pulled the hand away from his face and turned around. Natalie was kneeling on the ground behind him. She flicked a piece of dirt off of her pants and raised an eyebrow. "Did I startle you?" she asked innocently.

Dan glanced at Amy. Ian was just removing his hand from her mouth.

"Couldn't you have just whispered 'hey' or something?" Amy whispered. "Covering my mouth makes me think I'm being kidnapped!"

"Sorry," Ian said, not looking very sorry at all. "Is he still there?"

Dan nodded. "Yup," he said. "That man's like a hermit. He didn't even come out when the ice cream truck went by."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I told you, Dan, not everyone dashes out the door every time they hear the ice cream truck music like _some _ninja-loving-dweeby-fourteen-year-old-boys do."

Dan shrugged. "What can I say? I love ice cream."

Amy looked at the Kabras. "I practically had to hold him down to keep him from running after the truck," she said. "So you two have the next shift?"

Ian nodded. "There's a car waiting for you two on Lapsi Street," he said.

"Finally!" Dan said. "My legs fell asleep two hours ago!" He started to stand up, but Amy pulled him back down.

"Wait!" she whispered. The four kids peeked out of the bushes.

The dark-haired Russian was emerging from the house. Holding onto his arm was a beautiful blond woman wearing a dress, the same woman Amy and Dan had seen enter the house three hours before.

"He's leaving the house!" Natalie whispered excitedly. "We need to call in!"

There was a mad fumble as all four kids dug into their pockets (and, in Natalie's case, purse) for their cell phones.

Ian got his out first. He quickly dialed Mr. Crushen's number.

The Crusher picked up after the first ring. "Yes?"

"This is Ian. Vacardez is leaving the house with a woman."

"Good. I'm sending a car to follow them," Mr. Crushen said. "Describe the woman for me."

"Um..." Ian peered through the bushes again, "...she has long, blond hair...she's wearing a navy-colored dress...looks like she has blue eyes, but I can't tell for sure at this distance..." Amy handed him her binoculars.

"Oh, thanks." He put the binoculars to his eyes. "Mm-hm, those are blue, all right. She's wearing light blue heels...she has a really nice figure, too..." Ian kept looking through the binoculars.

Amy snatched them away. "Okay, okay," she said, "I think that's enough information, Ian."

Ian looked sheepish. "Erm, right. You sent a car, Mr. Crushen?"

"Just did. And I think I can identify the woman too. Her name is Sarah Carter. She's American, but she's lived here in South Africa with her brother for twenty years. Her brother is a very powerful Vesper."

Ian heard someone say something to the Crusher. "I have to go," the man said. "David just told me that I was supposed to be in a meeting ten minutes ago. Did Amy and Dan leave already?"

"No, they're still here," Ian said.

"You four take the car and come back here. I'll have my agents follow Vacardez and Carter."

"Okay, sir."

Mr. Crushen hung up. Across the street, the two Vespers got onto a far and drove away. Thirty seconds later, another car went after them.

Ian put away his phone. "He said to come back to the stronghold," he said, standing up. "Let's go."

He pulled Amy to her feet, and Natalie and Dan struggled to stand up.

Dan winced. "I've got pins and needles in my legs," he said.

"Walk around a little," his sister said. "You'll live."

Dan's face suddenly lit up. "I know what will make me feel better!"

"Here it comes..." Natalie murmured.

"Ice cream!"

Amy sighed. "No. We need to get back."

Dan out on his patented _Pretty please? With cherries and sprinkles and frosting and syrup and whipped cream and chocolate chips on top?_look.

"I wouldn't mind stopping for some ice cream," Ian said.

Amy gave him a _You're not helping _look.

"But if you don't want to, we don't have to," he added quickly.

Amy sighed. "Fine," she said. "But we'll be quick, okay?"

Dan whooped, ran out of the bushes, and started towards where their car was waiting.

"C'mon!" he said. "Let's see if those Tomas agents know where we can get some ice cream around here!" He ran down the street.

Natalie skipped after him. Amy sighed.

"You okay?" Ian asked her. They started walking down the sidewalk. "You look a little tired."

Amy rubbed her eyes. "I didn't get much sleep last night," she said. "But that's not what I'm sighing about."

"What _are _you sighing about?"

Amy shook her head. "Sometimes I wish I can look into Dan's brain and see how things work in there. Even when we're on a stake-out for a deadly Vesper, he somehow manages to think about ice cream. While he was thinking about delicious, frozen dairy treats, I was thinking about escape routes."

She looked up at Ian as they walked. "I don't know what to think. Do I need to lighten up? Or does Dan need to get more serious?"

Ian's eyes were pondering as he watched the forms of Dan and Natalie walk down the street. "I used to feel that way with Natalie—still do, sometimes," he said. "During the clue hunt, if we were sneaking into a place, I would be wondering what kind of security the place had." He chuckled. "Natalie would be wondering if they had a gift shop."

Amy smiled at the thought. It _did _sound a lot like something Natalie would do.

"So who's right?" she asked. "Us or them?"

Ian ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm really not sure," he said. "I'm glad they can keep _some _of their innocence, at least..."

"Yeah," Amy said, far too bitterly for any normal seventeen-year-old, "I lost most of _my _innocence three years ago."

Ian laughed with no humor. "I don't think I ever had any to start with."

Amy watched her brother climb up a stone wall along the sidewalk and balance on top.

_This hunt, is like game to your brother, no? _Irina Spasky had spoken those words to Amy in Australia three years ago.

She was right. Dan treated his whole life like one big video game. But there were times, Amy knew, when Dan knew when to be serious.

Ian spoke, breaking her train of thought. "I think," he said slowly, "that we're all right."

"How?"

"We're the older ones," Ian said. "We take more responsibility. They're the younger ones, so they can be a little more...relaxed. But they should know when to get serious. At the right times."

Amy bit her lip. "I guess you're right," she said. "I just..." She paused.

Ian stopped walking. "What?"

Amy stopped and looked at him. "I just hope he'll never get into trouble for being too relaxed at the _wrong _time."

* * *

><p>"Hi-yah!" Madison tackled Reagan to the mat, pinning her sister to the floor.<p>

Hamilton pretended to mark up an imaginary scoreboard in the air in front of him. "Madison, eighteen," he announced, "Reagan...one."

Reagan scowled. "Don't even bother counting that one," she said. "She was tying her shoe when I tripped and fell on top  
>of her."<p>

"Don't feel bad, Reag," Madison said, going to her sister and offering her a hand up. "You know I always beat you at wrestling."

Reagan ignored her sister's hand and stayed down on the mats. "I might as well give up," she sighed. "I don't have a chance against you."

"Give up?" bellowed a voice. "Tomas don't give up!"

Reagan jumped to her feet. The siblings whirled around. The Crusher had just entered the training area through a ground-level door.

"Mr. Crushen!" Madison exclaimed. "I thought you had a meeting!"

The man waved his hand. "Canceled, darn them." He walked up to Reagan. "What's this I hear about you giving up?"

Reagan looked at the floor. "N-nothing, sir," she said.

"She was going to give up because I kept beating her at wrestling," Madison piped up.

Reagan sent her sister a death glare.

Madison shrugged. "What?"

"So you're just going to give up?" Crushen asked. "Just after..." He looked at Hamilton. "How many times did she loose?"

"Eighteen times."

"...just after eighteen times?" the Crusher finished, making eighteen seem like a minuscule number.

"Well, she always beats me anyway..."

"Nonsense!" the big man bellowed. "You never give up, no matter what the odds are! What would your father say?"

Reagan winced. He had her there.

_You should be ashamed_, her father would say. _Holts don't give up. They work harder. They fight until all of their blood spills out and their last breath leaves their body. Fight harder, Reagan. Do better._

The Crusher was studying Reagan carefully. "You three," he said, "follow me." He started across the arena to a roped-in ring.

The Holts followed him.

They reached the ring. "Who's ever fenced before?" he asked.

Hamilton raised a hand tentatively. "I've thrown people _into _fences before."

Mr. Crushen shook his head. "Not the kind of fencing I was talking about." He looked at the three siblings. "Never fenced before? It's a great sport. David's a master at it. You'll never find him in the wrestling rings; he'll he hanging around here, winning match after match."

"What do you do?" Madison asked.

The Crusher walked over to a rectangular case sitting on the floor by the ring. He opened it, and pulled out a long, skinny stick.

"Whoa!" Hamilton breathed. "Is that a _sword_?"

The Crusher grinned and tossed the sword to the Holt boy. "It's called a foil."

Hamilton caught the hilt and waved it around. "Cool!"

The twins ducked as the foil swung over their heads. "Watch where you swing that thing!" Madison exclaimed.

The Crusher grabbed another foil and ducked under the rope boundary, nodding at Hamilton to follow him.

The two male Tomas stood in the center of the ring. "Here," the Crusher said, tossing Hamilton a white, padded vest. "Put this on." The man put one on himself, and Hamilton did the same. "Normally, fencers wear more padding, but we're Tomas, right?"

"Right," Hamilton said a little nervously, eying the tip of the Crusher's foil. "Now what?"

"Now we spar. _En guard_!"

"What? Oh...OH!" Hamilton lifted his foil just in time to block the Crusher's jab. But the Tomas man quickly maneuvered, twisting his weapon and sending Hamilton's foil flying out of the ring.

The Crusher poked Hamilton's chest through his vest. "Point."

Hamilton stood frozen, staring at his empty hand and wondering what had just happened.

"My turn," Madison said, picking Hamilton's foil up from the floor and climbing under the rope boundary. She pushed her brother out of the way. "Reagan, toss me a vest, will you?"

Reagan, who hadn't said a word for the past five minutes, found a smaller sized vest and threw it to her sister.

Madison quickly slipped it on. "Okay, I'm ready. _On guarding_, or whatever."

"_En guard_," said the Crusher.

"Right. That."

She made the first move, jabbing with her foil. The Crusher swiftly parried and made a jab. Madison wildly swung her foil, and the Crusher easily knocked it out of the way and poked her in the chest. "Point," he said, the ghost of a chuckle in his voice.

Madison scowled. "Rematch," she demanded.

This time, the Crusher chuckled out loud. "Nothing doing. It's your sister's turn."

Reagan got a deer-in-the-headlights look. "My turn? Nuh-uh. If they can't do it, I can't possibly..."

"Aw, c'mon, Reag," Hamilton coaxed. "You're not _afraid _are you?"

That did it. Reagan ducked under the rope and held a hand out to her twin. "Vest, please." Madison slipped off the vest and handed it to her sister.

"Foil." Madison handed her the weapon, then went to join Hamilton outside the rope boundary.

Reagan faced the Crusher. "I-I'm ready," she said.

The Crusher smiled at her. "_En guard!_

Reagan waited, letting the man come to her. The Crusher jabbed, and she knocked his foil away. His brow furrowed, and he thrusted again.

Reagan knew this could go on forever. So she decided to try something. What was the harm? She was going to lose anyway.

She caught the end of the Crusher's weapon with the hilt of her foil, and twisted. The man's foil went clattering across the floor.

The arena was silent. "Um..." Reagan said slowly, "...sorry?"

The Crusher's face broke into a huge smile. "Sorry?" he bellowed. "I should say not! That was brilliant!" He walked over to where his foil lay and picked it up. "Again! _En guard_!"

He thrusted at Reagan, with more force this time. Reagan took a step back and parried his blow. Her blue eyes were calculating, watching the man's every move. She feinted a jab at him, then ducked under his block as he swung his foil around, leaving his chest undefended.

She poked the point of her foil into his chest. "Point." Her voice echoed through the nearly empty gym.

At least, it _had _been nearly empty.

A whoop came from the other end of the arena. Then a smattering of applause. A dozen or so Tomas men and woman was come through the ground-level doors, drenched in sweat from their morning run.

"Crusher, man!" one of the men yelled. "You just got schooled by a little girl!"

Reagan became furious. "I'm not little!" she said. "I'm fourteen!"

The man jogged up to the ring and shrugged. "Same difference," he said. "The Crusher's gettin' old, ain't you, mate?" He clapped the big man on the shoulder.

Crushen smiled wryly. "I dunno, Pete," he said, looking at Reagan. "This one may surprise you."

"She sure will!" Madison piped up. "She'll whup your sorry butt!"

The man Pete grinned good-naturedly. "I accept the challenge," he said. "Pass me a vest, will you, mate? Thanks," he said as Hamilton threw him a vest. Pete took the foil from the Crusher, who joined the group standing outside of the ring.

Pete smiled at Reagan, and twirled the foil in his fingers. "Don't worry, sweetheart," he said. "I'll go easy on ya."

Reagan just smiled and lifted her sword. "_En guard_."

* * *

><p>Ned was on a train halfway to New York when he tried Sinead's cell phone again. No answer.<p>

He tried Jonah again. Same.

Ned checked his watch. 6:30. The concert began at 8:00, and Ned didn't even have a way of getting in. And he had a prickling feeling that something was going to happen tonight.

Something bad.

* * *

><p>Sinead hadn't seen Jonah for an hour, since his prep team had herded him into his dressing room. He had called over his shoulder for Sinead to, "Wander around a little!"<p>

But Sinead didn't know where to start. Men and women were running around, yelling into headsets and carrying pieces of equipment. Sinead had to duck as a man carrying a ladder swung around abruptly, almost plowing into her with the ladder.

She suddenly felt someone tap on her shoulder, and she whirled around.

Broderick Wizard had his phone to his ear, but he smiled at her.

"We're starting in twenty minutes," he said loudly, trying to be heard over the sound of the excited audience waiting for their idol to appear. "Let's find you a good seat." Sinead followed the man as he expertly wove around techies and stage managers and backup dancers.

Broderick stopped by the techie booth, right next to the edge of the stage. He pointed to a chair sitting nearby. "That's where you'll sit," he said. "I'll be on the other side of the stage if you need me." He disappeared into the shadows of the backstage area.

Sinead sat down in the chair. Then she stood up again and paced. She had been told to turn off her cell phone when she entered the backstage area (Broderick Wizard was an obvious exception to the rule), or else she would've called Ned to make sure he had gotten back to the mansion okay.

She spotted Jonah several meters away, surrounded by men and woman dusting his face (which Sinead did _not _understand) and wrinkling his shirt and already-baggy jeans.

Jonah was looking around. He flashed a grin at a techie who practically bowed to him as he walked by.

Jonah caught sight of Sinead, and his eyes lit up. He went over to her, ignoring the prep crew as they stumbled to walk with him and still adjust his outfit.

"Yo," he said, "what's crackin', mama?"

Sinead gave him a wry smile. "Oh, it's you," she said. "Sorry, I thought you were some other Jonah Wizard I knew."

Jonah laughed. "My bad," he said. "I gotta get back to my fly gangsta self befo' I hit that stage." He shrugged, then murmured in a lower voice, "I'm sort of out of practice."

Sinead smirked. "The great Jonah Wizard, out of practice? Never."

Jonah shrugged and looked around uncomfortably. Then he realized that his prep team was still working on him.

"Oh, um, thanks, yo," he said to them. "Y'all can go chill now."

The prep team nearly bowed like that techie had earlier. "Yes, Jonah," they said, and went away.

Sinead watched them leave. "Wow," she said. "You're like _royalty_."

"Yeah, sorta," Jonah muttered.

"Jonah?" a young, mousy-looking man carrying a clipboard sidled up to the young star. "Eight minutes to showtime."

Jonah flashed the man a grin. "Thanks, yo." He turned back to Sinead. "Sinead, this here is my man Jeffery. Jeffery's the head stage dude here. Jeff, this is my cuz, Sinead."

The man grasped Sinead's hand and gave it a firm shake. "Pleasure," he said crisply.

"Yeah, um, same to you," Sinead said.

Jeffery turned back to Jonah and tapped his watch. "Five minutes," he said. "Chop-chop."

"Okay, okay..." Jeffery walked away, scribbling on his clipboard as fast as Broderick Wizard typed on his Blackberry.

Jonah sighed. He looked tired.

"You okay?" Sinead asked.

Jonah shrugged. "I guess," he said, dropping the gangsta front for a moment. They stood in silence for a minute, watching people frantically bustle past, yelling into walkie-talkies and waving around clipboards.

Jonah sighed. "Y'know...sometimes I just wish..."

"JONAH!" Several female backup dancers crowded around the teenager, bumping Sinead out of the way. They were all talking at a mile a minute.

"I am a HUGE fan..."

"...my whole family, my mom, my dad, my sisters..."

"...all of your CDs, even your first one..."

"...my cousins, my grandparents..."

"...so honored to be working with you..."

"...my brothers, even my dog loves you..."

"...if you want to hang out after the show, y'know, to talk about how it went and all..."

Jonah looked extremely awkward, but he just stood there and let them chatter away.

Sinead finally took pity on him. "Hey!" she said loudly.

The girls turned around. "Who are _you_?" one girl asked.

Sinead jerked a thumb at Jonah. "I'm his friend," she said, "and I was just wondering, how can you dance to rap music?"

One of the girls, a tall redhead, smirked. "Obviously, you don't know a lot about dancing," she said. "It's easy. Girls? Five, six, seven, eight!" The group of girls broke out into a random dance number.

With the girls occupied, Sinead waved for Jonah to escape. _Go_, she mouthed.

Jonah grinned. _Thanks_, he mouthed back. He dashed away.

A couple of minutes later, the girls realized that Jonah was gone and went off to find him. Sinead smiled and sat down in her chair. The concert was about to start.

But she thought back to what Jonah had started to say: _...sometimes I just wish..._

He was a national celebrity. He had fame, wealth, and tons of girls who adored him.

What could a guy like him have to wish for?

* * *

><p>"Here, Jonah. And welcome back." A techie handed Jonah a cordless mic and patted him on the shoulder.<p>

Jonah almost smiled at that. Most of the crew was afraid to even go near him. This guy treated him like he was just another human being.

Like Sinead. Jonah thought about the Ekaterina girl sitting across the stage from him. She didn't seem to care about the fact that he was Jonah Wizard, rap mogul, pop star extraordinaire. Around her, he was just...Jonah.

"It's showtime," his father said, appearing behind him. "Good luck, son."

Jonah clutched the microphone and said nothing.

"Jonah?" his dad prompted. "Try to smile."

Jonah tried, but it was hard. Everything he did felt fake.

Then he flashed back to something Sinead had said: _I'm his friend._

Not his cousin. Not an acquaintance. His friend.

The sound system started up, and Jonah swaggered onto the stage, smiling.

* * *

><p>Natalie scowled as ice cream dripped down Dan's chin.<p>

"Ew," she said. She handed him a napkin. "Wipe. _Please_."

Dan halfheartedly swiped at his chin with the napkin, then resumed chomping on his ice cream. He glanced at Natalie, who was taking small licks of her mint chocolate chip. "You're never going to finish at that rate," he said.

"Shows how much you know," Natalie said. "I'll bet you a dollar that I'll finish my ice cream before you."

"You're on, Kabra!"

"Bring it, Cahill."

"One...two...three!" Dan began taking huge bites out of his ice cream.

Natalie continued slowly licking her ice cream.

"You're never going to win at that rate, you know," Ian said to his sister.

Natalie stopped licking for a moment and said, "Not the bet, no." She continued slowly devouring her ice cream.

Ian and Amy sent each other confused looks.

A minute later, Dan stuffed the rest of his ice cream into his mouth. "DMFH!" he exclaimed, spraying waffle cone all over the table.

Ian flicked a piece of chewed-up cone out of his jet-black hair. He looked at his sister, who had barely licked through half of her ice cream. "What was the point of that?" he asked her.

Natalie smiled, a gleam in he eye. She turned to Dan. "Wait for it," she murmured. "Wait for it..."

Dan gave her a strange look. Suddenly, he clutched his head with both hands. "AH! BRAIN FREEZE!"

Natalie, Amy, and Ian all burst out laughing.

Dan banged his forehead on the table. "Major brain freeze!" he moaned. "_Epic_ brain freeze!"

"Is someone recording this?" Amy asked between snorts of laughter.

Finally, the brain freeze seemed to wear away. Dan lifted his head off of the table and glared at Natalie. "You owe me a buck," he grumbled, turning his palm upwards.

Natalie slapped a one-dollar bill into his open palm. "It was worth it," she said, still giggling.

Amy was still laughing too, and she looked over at Ian.

Ian had stopped laughing. His eyes were fixed on something across the ice cream parlor.

"Ian?" Amy asked gently, touching his arm.

Ian glanced at her, then back across the room, and finally back at her again. "Can I talk to you?" he asked, standing up.

Amy nodded, a questioning look in her eye. She stood up, too.

"No more ice cream, you two," she said to their younger siblings as she and Ian walked away. "Be right back."

Ian led her out the from door onto the decorative porch of the ice cream parlor.

Amy looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

Ian glanced nervously at the window, then pulled Amy back a step so they couldn't be seen from inside of the ice cream parlor.

"When Dan started yelling," he said in a low voice, still holding her arm, "everyone inside looked up. Except one man, sitting in the corner."

"Who...?"

"Caucasian male. About thirty-five years old. Approximately 6 feet, 3 inches," he rattled off. "Light brown hair. Brown eyes. Walks with a slight limp in his left leg and had a small scar on the back of his neck."

Amy stared at him. "How...?"

Ian shrugged. "Training, I guess," he said. "I've been taught to notice things."

Amy seemed to accept this. "Okay, but what...?"

"I don't know. We could just leave, but he'd keep following us..."

"Ian..."

"...if we confront him, someone might get hurt. He could be armed..."

"Ian..."

"...of course, we could try to lose him, but that's risky..."

"IAN!" Amy covered Ian's mouth with her hand.

Ian stopped talking.

"Calm yourself," she said sternly. Ian nodded, and she dropped her hand. "Okay," she said. "Let's be logical about this. We don't even know if this guy is really following us. So how do we test that?"

"Go up to him and ask him if he's following us?"

"C'mon, Ian, be serious."

Ian grinned. "Okay, okay." He thought for a moment. "Well, we could just walk for awhile," he said. "See if he keeps showing up where we are."

"Okay," Amy said. "What about Dan and Natalie?"

Ian clucked his tongue. "Good point. I'd say just just you and I go, but what if he stays here with them?"

Suddenly, the little bell on the shop door tinkled as the door opened. The two of them jumped, and Ian quickly grabbed Amy's wrist and pulled her towards him. He ducked his head by her ear and whispered, "It's him."

Amy's heart pounded, partially from the fact that a potential Vesper was only a few feet behind her, and partially from the fact that Ian was holding her hand and his face was mere inches from hers.

_Focus, Cahill, focus._

Amy stole a glance over her shoulder and watched the man walk out of the ice cream parlor and limp down the front steps, his brimmed hat pulled low over his face. He crossed the street to a newspaper stand, bought a paper, and sat down on a bench nearby to read it.

"That's him," Ian murmured into Amy's ear. "That's the guy."

Amy turned so her back was to the man. "We can assume, then," she said, "that he wouldn't stay with Natalie and Dan if we left."

"Why is that?"

"He came out to watch us. If he were going to stay with Dan and Natalie, he wouldn't have cared where we were."

Amy watched his eyes flit over her shoulder to the man across the street. "Mm," he said. "You're right." He took her arm. "Let's go tell the other two what's going on."

They went back into the ice cream parlor.

* * *

><p>The Surveyor was in a slightly better mood when the girl came in for her report.<p>

"Yes?" the Surveyor asked. "Where are they now?"

The girl trembled. "W-well," she said, "we lost track of them for a few hours..."

The Surveyor banged a fist on the table, rattling pens and scattering papers.

"_Lost track_ of them? How do you lose track of two _children_?"

"B-but we have them now," the girls continued bravely, holding out an orange envelope like a peace offering.

"See?"

The Surveyor snatched the envelope from the girl's grasp and pulled out several photos, taken from a long-range camera.

"When were these taken?"

"Just twenty minutes ago, Surveyor."

"And they're with Ian and Natalie?"

"Yes."

The Surveyor was studying the photos when the phone rang. The girl picked it up. "Yes?" She listened for a moment. "Hold on." She looked at the Surveyor, who was still looking at the photos.

"It's Bradley," she said.

"The tail?"

The girl nodded.

"What does he want?"

"He wants to know," the girl said carefully, "who he should follow if the older two separate from the younger two."

The Surveyor stared at the girl for a moment, then glanced back at the photos. Suddenly, the Surveyor started laughing.

The girl looked confused—and a little nervous. "Surveyor?"

The Surveyor finally looked up. "I wouldn't believe it," the Surveyor murmured. "I wouldn't believe it."

The Surveyor paused. "No, I would believe it." Looking at the girl, the Surveyor said, "The older two. Follow the older two."

The girl relayed the order and hung up the phone, then quickly left the room. For the second time in the last two days, the Surveyor stared at one picture in particular, trying to figure out what it meant. Or, more importantly, how it could be used for the Vespers' advantage.

It was a photo of Ian Kabra and Amy Cahill, standing closer to each other than one would assume necessary for the average conversation.

* * *

><p>Reagan was whistling as she walked over to her sister, who was holding a bottle of water. Madison handed her the bottle, and Reagan took a long gulp.<p>

"Reag!" Hamilton went over to his sisters. "That's fifteen wins! You've wiped out the whole group! You're a beast!"

Reagan smiled a little. "I like fencing," she said.

Madison guffawed. "Good thing," she said. "You're a natural!"

A voice came from behind the siblings. "Yeah, Reagan, I hear you're a big hotshot fencer now."

The Holts turned around. David Dhine grinned. "Mind if I join you in a little friendly match?"

Reagan shook her head slowly. David went to find a vest, and Madison pulled her twin aside.

"Reagan," she said quietly, "the Crusher was telling me about David. Sis, he's, like, the best fencer in the stronghold. He's beaten _everyone_."

"So has she," Hamilton pointed out, sounding a bit more optimistic than his sister.

"I'll be fine," Reagan said. "He'll probably beat me, but it'll be a..." She paused, remembering what her soccer coach used to say when they lost a game, "...a learning experience." She picked her foil up off the ground and headed for the ring.

"A learning experience," Madison muttered, following her sister. "Ha. That's funny, real funny."

Hamilton moved away from his sister. When she started muttering to herself like that, he found it best to stay out of her way.

Reagan grabbed her sword and ducked into the ring. David was already waiting, vest on and foil in hand.

"Don't worry," David said. "I'll go easy on you."

Reagan would've beat him up right then and there, except that she realized that there was no mocking in his voice. He was being totally straight with her. He honestly thought that she would lose if he went hard against her.

"Ditto," Reagan said, grinning.

The Crusher stood next to them. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," David said. Reagan just nodded.

"_En guard!_"

Neither Tomas moved. They both stood, eyes locked, waiting for the other to make the first move.

David's Mistake No. 1: He made the first move.

David shuffled forward, taking an experimental jab at Reagan. She quickly deflected the jab, and jumped forward with her own foil.

David's Mistake No. 2: He stepped back.

David stepped back, putting him momentarily off balance. Reagan saw her opening and took another jab.

David deflected it just in time, regaining his balance. His eyes darkened a little in the centers, and he came on her with more force.

Reagan stepped back. She couldn't use her foil with him so close. Her blue eyes tracked his movements, watched him approach her and raise his foil.

Then she had an idea. He didn't have any more softness towards her; if he had the chance to beat her, he would take it.

Reagan lowered her foil, faking fatigue. David grinned, and pushed his weapon point forward.

Reagan ducked under the point.

"Hey!" David exclaimed, looking confused. He tried in vain to pull his foil back and defend himself, but it was too late. Reagan poked the tip of her foil into his chest. "Point."

The gym was deadly silent. Reagan looked around nervously.

David was the first to speak. He broke into a big smile and said, "Nice going, little cuz!"

The Tomas spectators broke into roaring cheers. Reagan stumbled back in surprise at the reception. They flooded the ring, patting her on the back and shaking her hand.

Reagan was starting to feel a little dizzy when she heard two familiar voices come from the crowd.

"'scuse me, pardon me, siblings of champion coming through..."

"YO! MOVE IT!"

Hamilton and Madison elbowed their way through the crowd. Madison tackled her sister into a hug. "Reag!" she yelled over the cheers. "That was AMAZING!"

"Thanks! Um...can we get out of here?"

"On it," Hamilton said, pulling his sisters behind him. "Madi, run to the doors."

Madison ran out from behind her brother and ran to the doors. "There she goes!" Hamilton yelled, pointing at the fleeing girl.

The twins weren't totally identical, but they looked enough alike for the crowd of jubilant Tomas to run after the girl, shouting praise and congratulations.

Soon, the gym was empty except for Reagan, Hamilton, David, and the Crusher.

"Should we go help Reagan?" David asked.

Reagan moved out from behind Hamilton. "Madison, you mean," she said.

Before David could comment, the doors slammed from across the room. Madison walked in, looking bedraggled.

"Never," she called to her sister, "let me be your stunt double again."

* * *

><p>Jonah didn't realize how much he missed being onstage. Sure, there were always downsides to being a worldwide celebrity—the stalker chicks, the constant paparazzi, no privacy, not being able to go out onto the street alone without being jumped by fans.<p>

But that feeling onstage—having everyone's eyes on you, feeling the love of the crowd—was almost worth all the trouble.

Jonah started with an old song—_Swaggu For Two_. It had scored Number One song on the charts for two months straight a few years before, and the crowd went wild.

He sang a few more songs, did some more raps—yup, the Wizard was back.

Backstage, Sinead was trying to concentrate on the music. But a little nagging voice in the back of her mind (which, oddly enough, sounded like her brothers) was bugging her to call Ned. Finally, she gave in to the little voice and crept out the backstage area to an empty hall.

She quickly turned on her cell phone, then growled in frustration as she saw the low battery symbol pop up. She swiftly punched in Ned's number. Her brother answered after the first ring.

"I've been trying to get through to you!" he exclaimed.

"Ned? What's wrong?"

"Well, Ted's back."

Sinead almost cried with joy. But crying was beneath her, so she stopped up the tears and said, "Where was he? What happened? Did you find Nellie yet?"

"I'll fill you in later. But listen, sis, Jonah's in danger." He quickly told Sinead about what Ted had seen on the highway.

Sinead tried to push away the feeling of dread. "Ned, that could've been anything. It doesn't mean that it was Vesp–"

"Sinead, you've got to believe me. What kind of people would drive around with a machine gun sitting in the backseat?"

Sinead didn't say anything.

She heard Ned sigh. "Look, just tell Mr. Wizard, okay? Tell the chief of security—I don't care! Just tell _someone_."

Sinead swallowed. "Okay."

"Be careful."

"You, too."

The siblings both hung up.

Sinead returned backstage, clutching her cell phone in one hand. She knew that neither Mr. Wizard nor the chief of security would care about one little drive-by shooting that barely had any connection to Jonah.

She crept through the shadows, the music pounding in her ears, to the edge of the stage. The backup dancers had disappeared, and Jonah was alone onstage for his last song of the night.

Sinead peeked out at the audience. The place was packed—two-thousand Jonah fans in pure bliss as Jonah started his final song—_How the Feuding Hurts_.

Sinead watched as the crowd, totally in rapture, swayed back and forth with the rhythm of the song. She actually saw some girls start to cry. The large crowd of fifteen, sixteen-year-old girls that stood by the stage, one mass of females, swaying back and forth, with mascara-stained cheeks as the tears flowed.

Then Sinead saw something strange.

In the midst of the group purely made up of teenage girls, a tall man in a gray suit stood frozen. He had long, greasy-looking hair pulled back into a ponytail that went down his back. His nose was crooked, like it had been broken a few times and had never grown back correctly.

Sinead tried to shrug of that same feeling of dread that had suddenly appeared again. Maybe this guy was one of the girls' father. Maybe he was some sort of promoter, there to get fans excited.

No, this guy was standing so still, Sinead almost would've believed he was a statue. Until he slowly moved his arm towards his pocket.

And when Sinead saw the silver glint of the gun, she was already running.

* * *

><p>Dan didn't want to let Amy go alone—not so much because of Ian anymore, but mostly because of the possibility that there was a Vesper following her. Nonetheless, he really couldn't do anything about it.<p>

So the two sets of siblings split up outside—Dan and Natalie heading for the car waiting for them, Amy and Ian walking in the opposite direction.

It didn't take long for it to become obvious that the man was following them. He appeared in the antique shop that Amy pulled Ian into, saying in a quick whisper that she wanted to check to see if the man was still following.

Amy immediately drifted to the bookcase tucked into the back of the small, cluttered shop. Ian stood by the door, acting bored. When the man entered the shop (_stupid move_, Ian thought), the Lucian boy's amber eyes followed him as the man pretended to engage himself in a box of silverware.

Amy glanced up and locked eyes with Ian, who nodded slightly.

"Amy, let's go," he said aloud. Amy stayed quiet, not trusting herself to speak like everything was normal. She crossed the shop and let Ian lead her out the door, back onto the street.

Once they were outside, and the door had swung shut behind them, Amy whispered, "What now?"

Ian spoke low and fast. "We'll find a restroom. You go in and call Mr. Crushen. Tell him to send some agents to pick this guy up. I'll wait outside and make sure the man doesn't leave."

"And if he tries to leave?"

Ian smiled grimly and patted his pocket. For the first time, Amy noticed the recognizable bulge of a small handgun in Ian's pocket.

She swallowed. "Right," she said in a hoarse whisper.

The jingle of bells behind them told the two teenagers that the man had left the antique shop.

Ian rolled his eyes as the two of them continued walking down the street. "He is such an _amateur_."

Amy suppressed a smile.

They found a store with a public restroom. Amy went inside while Ian waited by the door.

Amy entered the restroom and locked the door. She pulled out her cell phone and called Mr. Crushen.

"Crushen here."

"Mr. Crushen, it's Amy Cahill. We're being trailed."

"Vesper?"

"We think so." She quickly told him everything that had happened since the ice cream parlor.

"Ian wants you to send some agents to come pick him up," she finished.

"I'm doing that right now," the man said. "Stay at that store for ten minutes. Then start walking. We'll catch the man who's following you."

They quickly hung up. Amy unlocked the door and went back through the store.

She pushed through the front doors and said, "Ian..." Then she stopped. The man was gone.

And so was Ian.

* * *

><p><em>Ka-thump...Ka-thump...<em>

All Sinead could hear was her heartbeat.

Time slowed down as she bolted across the stage. Screams of joy turned into screams of terror. The screech of feedback as Jonah dropped his microphone. The _bang _of the gun as the man pulled the trigger.

_Ka-thump...Ka-thump..._

All Sinead could hear was her heartbeat.

Her heart stopped for a moment, and there was silence.

Dead silence.

Then a sharp, searing pain wrenched through her gut.

She felt herself fall, felt her head hit the stage. She felt hands on her arm, felt the pounding of many feet vibrating on the stage. She felt arms lift her up, felt her body go limp.

She felt dizzy, saw blood on the front of her dress. She struggled to breathe. The pain was dulled, and the darkness was closing in.

Sinead felt her eyes slowly close.

_Ka-thump...Ka-thump..._

* * *

><p><strong>Hello, my name is Rick Riordan.<strong>

**Geddit? Because it's a cliffhanger that you'll all probably hate me for? Oh, forget it.**

**So yeah, ****I made this an extra-long chapter as an apology for making you guys wait so long for an update. I've been super duper busy with school and theatre and everything, and other times I've just been plain lazy. So there's that.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**(you guys will probs have to go back to remind yourselves how you reviewed XP sorry...)**

**-Guest: Sorry for the lack of Ted and Ned. I'll try to make sure there's more of them in the future.**

**-MyselfxP: I'm awaiting my reward cake and ice cream with eager and hungry anticipation.**

**-catdreamer39: Wow, thanks so much. Yes, Molly/Dan 5eva!**

**-The 39 foreva: Hey, thanks so much. I'm def gonna post more stories. I'm working on a multi-chap now, but I want to get a few more chapter done before I start putting it up.**

**-Hiker Writer: Yes.**

**-numbah435spiritsong: DUDE. THANKS. And I finally updated...be proud.**

**-The Gone Angel: Lol, I wrote this when I was 12 and probably around 4'11''. Now I'm 15 and 5'2", so I guess I figured that Dan, Natalie, and the twins would have all been shorter than 5'3" at 14. (I don't have a good sense of height...)**

**-Clouded Harmony: That's fine if you didn't review a lot. I'm a horrible reviewer myself. And when do I usually update? Well, it varies...**

**Thanks everyone who reviewed! I wish I could respond to everyone's reviews, but I think I've made y'all wait long enough for an update. If you have any questions or comments you want specifically addressed, feel free to PM me!**

**So, Trust No One? Pretty awesome, huh? (ugh, by the next time I update Day of Doom will probably already be out...)**

**Speaking of which, Day of Doom! You guys ready? (I'm not)**

**But we're getting another series! Huzzah! More chances for Amian!**

**I guess that's it. Thank you all for being so wonderfully patient. I don't think I got any hate reviews for not updating for awhile, just a few polite comments asking when I'm going to update. You guys are awesome.**

**Peace!**

**Later peasants.**

**Stay chill!**

**I really need an outro ugh**

** -KT**


	36. Chapter 36

**Don't hate me.**

**I love you all.**

**I will spread more love at the end of this chapter.**

**But for now.**

**Here we go.**

**(Look I'm even doing a recap for you that's how sorry I am. You guys know I hate doing recaps)**

* * *

><p>Last time, on <em>Return of the Cahills<em>...

_Dan was bored, bored, _bored_._

_..._

_Reagan just smiled and lifted her sword. "En guard."_

_..._

_Ned checked his watch. 6:30. The concert began at 8:00, and Ned didn't even have a way of getting in. And he had a prickling feeling that something was going to happen tonight._

_..._

_The sound system started up, and Jonah swaggered onto the stage, smiling._

...

_Ian glanced nervously at the window, then pulled Amy back a step so they couldn't be seen from inside of the ice cream parlor._

_"When Dan started yelling," he said in a low voice, still holding her arm, "everyone inside looked up. Except one man, sitting in the corner."_

...

_The Surveyor paused. "No, I would believe it." Looking at the girl, the Surveyor said, "The older two. Follow the older two."  
><em>...  
><em>And when Sinead saw the silver glint of the gun, she was already running.<em>

_..._

_Dan didn't want to let Amy go alone—not so much because of Ian anymore, but mostly because of the possibility that there was a Vesper following her._  
><em>...<em>

_She pushed through the front doors and said, "Ian..." Then she stopped. The man was gone._

_And so was Ian._

_..._

_Sinead felt her eyes slowly close._

_Ka-thump...Ka-thump..._

* * *

><p><em>I will not panic, I will not panic<em>.

Amy was panicking.

She looked around wildly, her eyes scanning the people walking up and down the street. None of them was a middle-aged, light brown-haired man with a slight limp, and none of them was a seventeen-year-old boy with jet black hair and amber eyes.

Not caring whether she was still being watched or not, Amy pulled out her cell phone and punched in the Crusher's number. No answer. She stomped the ground in frustration. Then she dialed Hamilton's number.

"Amy?"

"Hamilton! Where are you?"

"Me, Mr. Crusher, and a few other guys are on our way to pick you, Ian, and your stalker up. Where are you?"

"Hamilton, Ian and the man are both gone."

"Gone? What? Hang on, here's Mr. Crushen."

Amy cast a quick look around the street again as the Tomas man's voice boomed over the phone.

"AMY! What happened?"

Amy tried not to hyperventilate as she quickly told the Crusher what had happened.

The Crusher was silent for a moment. "We'll come pick you up," he finally said.

"But what about Ian?"

"Amy, we're coming to pick you up."

"We have to find him!"

"We'll do what we can. Wait inside the store for us to pick you up."

"You're just giving up on him, aren't you?" Amy said angrily. She would never have the nerve to talk this way to Mr. Crushen if they were face to face. "You think they took him, don't you?"

"I said we'll do the best we can!" the Crusher barked. "But we have nothing to go on—absolutely nothing! Our agents lost Vacardez and Carter, and for all we know, they could've skipped the country! So right now, the least of our worries is a teenage boy who's been missing for five minutes! Now wait where you are and we'll be right there!" The phone beeped as the man cut the connection.

Amy stabbed at the END button, angry that Mr. Crushen wasn't going to do anything to find Ian.

She looked down at her phone, then did something that she should've done the minute she realized that Ian was MIA; she called his cell phone.

_You have reached the voicemail of Ian Kabra..._

Ian never turned his phone off. _Never_.

Amy shut her phone, an angry sob escaping from her lips.

_Ian, where are you?  
><em>

* * *

><p>Why had she done it?<p>

Jonah was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital with his father, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. Besides him, Broderick Wizard snored softly, having fallen asleep an hour before. They had been in the waiting room for two hours, waiting for any news about Sinead.

Why had she done it?

Everything was a blur to Jonah. He remembered seeing the man lift the gun, hearing the screams of terror as he dropped his microphone, unable to move. Then, suddenly, a flash of auburn hair as Sinead jumped in front of him, taking the bullet that was meant for him.

Why had she done it?

Someone had called an ambulance. Sinead was lifted onto a gurney and rushed off of the stage, into the ambulance.

Jonah had jumped in the back with her before his father could protest. The ambulance blared its way to the hospital as the paramedics tried desperately to stop the flow of blood from the wound in Sinead's stomach.

When the ambulance reached the hospital, two paramedics wheeled the gurney down a long hall. Jonah started to follow, but a third paramedic stopped him and pointed him towards the waiting room, ignoring Jonah's protests and "do you know who I am?" lines.

So Jonah was forced to the waiting room. Fifteen minutes later, his father joined him.

And so they had waited for two hours. As a clock somewhere in the hospital struck one, Jonah felt like he had been waiting forever.

Suddenly, the door to the waiting room opened. A plump nurse poked her head inside. "Mr. Wizard?" she asked.

Jonah turned, about to shake his dad awake, when he realized that the nurse was addressing him. "Uh, yeah? That's me."

The nurse smiled. "Your cousin is in stable condition right now," she said, "but she's still unconscious. Would you like to see her?"

Jonah didn't see the point in seeing Sinead if she was still unconscious, but something made him stand up and say, "Yeah. I mean, yes, please."

The nurse led him out of the waiting room and down the hallway. Jonah quickly snatched his hat off of his head and clutched it in his hands. This felt like the kind of place that you should take your hat off to be in.

They reached a room near the end of the hall. The nurse opened the door for Jonah, and he stepped inside.

A bed sat in the middle of the room. Lots of scary-looking machines surrounded the bed, their lights pulsing softly. A heart-rate monitor beeped softly in the corner. The curtains were closed on the window to Jonah's right.

The nurse walked over to a rolling cart that was sitting by the bed. "I'll be going, now," she said. "Feel free to stay as long as you like."

Jonah stayed by the door. "Uh...thanks."

The nurse smiled at him, the wheeled the cart out the door. On her way out, she turned to Jonah and patted his hand. "Don't lose hope, dear," she said. "Things will turn out okay." The nurse left the room, leaving Jonah alone.

The young pop star stayed by the door. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to see Sinead in the state she was in. Finally, though, he forced himself to walk across the room and stand by the bed.

It wasn't as bad as he had expected. There was no visible blood. Sinead was lying peacefully under a sheet, her head resting on a pillow, her long, auburn hair spread out on the pillow. She could have just been sleeping, if she didn't have an oxygen tube right under her nose, or a pulse monitor strapped to her wrist.

Jonah found a chair sitting in a corner of the room and dragged it over to the side of the bed. He sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. He bent his head, thinking. Then he looked up and said, "I'm going to say this now...I don't know if you can hear me or not, but it's going to be easier for me to say now than when you're wide awake and looking at me.

"Can you imagine? Me, with stage fright. Who knew?"

Jonah took a deep breath and continued:

"I don't understand why you did what you did. That is, why you risked your own life to save mine. That bullet was for me.

"They didn't catch the guy, Sinead. He got away, surprisingly enough. Dad called Fiske, and told him what happened. Your brothers'll be here tomorrow.

"He must have been a Vesper. It only makes sense. What doesn't make sense, though, was how they knew I'm a Cahill. And what're they playing at now? Are they gonna try to knock off every Cahill on the planet?"

Jonah snorted.

"Yeah, I wish them luck with that. It's impossible. There's just too many.

"But how did they know about me? And how the heck did that guy sneak that gun past security?"

Jonah paused.

"Y'know, if their goal tonight was to kill off a Cahill, preferably me, they'd probably be more successful if they had actually killed you."

Jonah glanced nervously at the heart monitor, hoping he hadn't jinxed himself. The pulse line was a steady motion of up and down lines. All was good.

He continued:

"You're worth ten of me. You can fix anything, solve anything. You never let anything get in your way."

Jonah smiled, hearing Sinead's voice in his head, protesting to the compliments; _Yeah, right. So not true. I can't fix _everything_. Just...most things._

Jonah sighed, the grin disappearing from his face. "Me? What am I good for? Sure, if I die, thousands of fans will be heartbroken. For, like, a week. Maybe two.

"It's because no one really knows me. Those fans would mourn me because of my singing, and," Jonah grinned self-consciously, "my extremely good looks."

_You keep telling yourself that, Jonah_, Sinead's voice said drily in his head.

Jonah's face grew serious again. "If you die...well, maybe not as many people will miss you as they will me. But the amount of sorrow—from your brothers, your parents, Alistair Oh, Amy, Dan, Ian, Natalie, the Holts—that everyone who knows you would feel, would be ten times greater than the sorrow of the thousands of fans who don't even know the real me."

Sinead's voice was silent.

Jonah straightened. "So you can't die," he said, his voice wavering a little. He reached down, gently cupping Sinead's hand in his. "You can't die for me. I'm not worth it."

He wasn't sure if he imagined it, but Jonah thought he felt Sinead's fingers curl a little against his hand.

And her voice in his head scoffed, _I'm not going die for you, idiot. I'm not dying. Not today.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Hamilton was the first one out of the car. He ran over to Amy, who was sitting on the curb.<p>

He kneeled down next to her. "What happened?" he asked.

Amy told him.

Hamilton's face was furious. "They made a big mistake," he said.

"So you think it was the Vespers?" Amy's voice was soft, but it had a steely edge to it that caused Hamilton to lean away from her a bit. Amy looked like she was about to murder somebody, and Hamilton didn't want to be that somebody.

Hamilton shrugged. "I doubt he went off to that makeup store over there."

"What if they kill him?" Amy whispered.

Hamilton shook his head. "They won't do that," he said. "They'll want to keep him alive for ransom...or information."

Amy looked pained. "But he wouldn't tell them anything."

"I know." Hamilton attempted a smile. "Hey, this is Ian we're talking about. The Vespers don't know what they're getting into."

* * *

><p>"Hello, Ian."<p>

Ian winced, blinking in the sudden light. He was sitting in a metal chair. The figure in front of him was blurry, his head was throbbing, and his mouth was parched. He coughed, and tried to stand.

Then he realized his hands were tied behind him.

Everything came rushing back to him; following the man down the street, turning the corner, seeing the van, getting grabbed and knocked out.

It occured to him that no one knew where he was. He had left Amy at the...

Amy! Had they captured her too? Was she hurt? Ian struggled to free himself, then realized it was hopeless. His wrists were securely tied to the chair. He tried to move his feet, and realized that his ankles were bound, too.

"Shh," said the figure. "Here. Drink." Ian felt a plastic cup being pressed to his mouth, and felt the water on his dry lips. It took all his willpower to yank his head away, knocking the cup and some of its contents over the figure.

The figure, who Ian was now able to identify as a woman, drew in a breath, and then, to Ian's surprise, laughed out loud.

"Very good," she said. "But I promise you, it's just water. See?" She took a sip from the cup, then again lifted the cup to Ian's lips.

This time, he drank the water. It was the best water he ever drank, although that might have been just because he was so thirsty.

"There," said the woman. Ian looked up at her as things came into focus.

She was probably in her mid-thirties, with a long brown braid going down her back. Her eyes were light blue, and she was wearing a dark blue business suit. A small two-way radio was attached to her skirt.

Ian tried to speak, but his voice was raspy. The woman gave him more water, and he was finally able to speak.

"Where am I?"

The woman smiled. "That's classified," she said.

Ian glared at her.

"How are you feeling?"

"That's classified," Ian replied coldly.

The woman laughed again. "Very good," she said, approvingly.

Ian looked around. They were in a small room with white walls. By one wall sat a small folding cot. There was a sink in one corner, and Ian saw a door across the room.

Ian pulled at his bonds again.

"Now, Ian," the woman said, "be sensible."

"Who are you?" Ian demanded.

The woman smiled. "My name is Rose Faust. I'm in charge of this unit."

"Unit?"

Rose ignored him. She unclipped the radio from her skirt and spoke into it, "He's awake. Repeat, Ian Kabra is awake."

There was a burst of static, then a familiar voice spoke, sending shivers up Ian's spine, "Good. I'll be right there."

It couldn't be...

A minute later, the door opened.

"Hello, Ian," purred Isabel Kabra.

* * *

><p>Dan had experience in many dangerous situations; snake-infested pits, ninja battles, Amy without a book to read, to name a few.<br>But he deeply hoped that he would never again have to be anywhere within a mile radius of Natalie Kabra when she found out that her brother was missing.

"GONE?" she shrieked. "What do you mean, he's GONE?"

Amy looked miserable. "I went inside for two minutes. When I came out, he was just..._gone_."

"Did you try his cell phone?" Dan asked. He still had some ice cream on his chin, but the ice cream parlor seemed like a hundred years ago to Amy.

His sister nodded. "It went straight to voicemail."

"And the stalker dude was gone, too?" Hamilton asked. He and his sisters were seated at the table with Dan, Amy, Natalie, David, and Mr. Crushen.

Amy nodded again.

Natalie looked furious. She glared at Mr. Crushen. "Well? Aren't you going to do something? Send out your agents to look for him! Send _us_ out to look for him!" She stood up from the table. "In fact, I'm leaving. Right now." She headed for the door.

It was Reagan who jumped up to stop her. "Natalie, wait," she said, grabbing the Lucian girl's arm. "If the Vespers wanted Ian, they probably want you, too, if not all of us."

"It's not safe," David finished.

"Please, Natalie," Reagan begged.

Natalie glared at her. Then her shoulders sagged a bit. "I...I just don't know what to do," she murmured.

"I'll send out a few agents to look for him," Mr. Crushen said, "but the best thing we can do right now is to wait to see if his captors contact us."

Natalie stared at him for a long moment. Then she turned on her heel and stalked out the door.

Reagan started to follow her, but Mr. Crushen called her back. "Let her go," he said. "She can't leave the stronghold without my permission. She just needs to cool off a bit."

Amy bit her tongue to suppress the urge to yell at the Tomas man. He made it seem like Natalie had no reason to be so upset.

The Crusher folded his hands on the table. "On another topic," he said calmly, "we haven't yet located Vacardez and Carter, but we have reason to believe that they have taken an airplane to London."

"London?" Dan exclaimed. "They're going to London? Why would they go to London? What do they want in London?" He looked at Amy. "Will you give me a dollar for every time I say London?"

Amy rubbed her face. She knew Dan was trying to lighten the mood, but she could tell that even her younger brother, usually so lighthearted, was feeling the stress that was on everyone else.

Dan shrugged at her negative reaction. "It was worth a try."

Mr. Crushen answered Dan's questions in the order they were asked, "Yes. We think so. We don't know. We don't know."

Madison looked confused. "What were the original questions again?"

Mr. Crushen sighed. "Never mind. The point is, I'm sending you all to...to notify certain sources and rally the necessary forces."

"That rhymes!" Dan and Reagan said together. They looked at each other.

"Wait, wait, wait," Madison said. "You're sending us to _London?_"

The Crusher nodded.

"What about Ian?" asked Hamilton. "Shouldn't at least one of us stay here in case we hear word of him?"

Mr. Crushen pushed back from the table. "Perhaps," he said. "I have something that I've been thinking about for awhile..." He paused, lost in thought.

"Grandpa?" David asked. "Am I going, too?"

The Crusher looked over at his grandson. "Uh...no, David, I don't think so."

"But, Grandpa..."

"You need to stay here. And train." Mr. Crushen crossed his arms. "That's my final decision."

David scowled. "You never let me do anything!" he burst out. He stood up from the table and dashed out of the room.

"David!" the Crusher bellowed, standing up. A door slammed in the distance, and Mr. Crushen sat back down heavily in his chair.

"Go pack your things now," he said. "You'll depart as soon as you're ready to go."

The kids stood up and headed for the door.

"Reagan."

Reagan turned and looked at the man as the others left the room. "Yes, sir?"

Madison paused at the door, waiting for her sister.

"I need to talk to you for a moment," the Crusher said. "Privately."

Reagan turned to her sister. "Go 'head, Madi. I'll meet you back at the room."

Madison hesitated, then nodded. She left the room.

Mr. Crushen motioned to a chair. "Sit, Reagan."

Reagan eased herself into a chair across from the man.

The Crusher was silent for a minute, lost in thought. Reagan figeted nervously.

Finally, Mr. Crushen spoke, "Reagan, you've shown potential to be a very good fencer."

"Thank you, sir."

"With a little more training, who knows what else you could accomplish?"

Reagan wasn't sure where this was going. "Sir?"

The Crusher smiled at her. "Reagan, I would like you to stay here while the others go to London."

Reagan sat up abruptly. "What? Why?"

Mr. Crushen folded his hands on the table. "Several reasons. One, because I think it will be good for you to stay here and train some more."

"But my family needs me!"

"I agree," the Crusher said. "Your family needs you. Here. To train to be the best you can be."

"But—"

"There's another reason, Reagan."

Reagan shut her mouth."

Mr. Crusher sighed, and sat back in his chair. "I'm getting old," he said plainly. He looked at Reagan expectantly.

Reagan wasn't sure why he had paused. Then she realized what he was waiting for, and said quickly, "What? You? You're not getting old!"

The Crusher waved her comments away with one hand. "No, it's true. I'll be retiring in a few years, and I'll need someone to take over my position of the Tomas branch."

Reagan furrowed her brow. "What exactly is your position, sir?"

Mr. Crushen puffed out his chest proudly. "Well, it's not the head of the branch," he said modestly. "I'm sort of the, how can I put this? Vice-head, you could say. I'm in charge of anything the head needs me to do."

"Oh."

"Anyway," the Crusher continued, "although the election of the head of the Tomas is usually achieved through competition, the positions of vice-head is normally passed down through immediate families. Not always, but normally. My father was vice-head before me, and his father before him, and so on."

Mr. Crusher grimaced. "I'm certainly not passing this honor down to my son-in-law, and my daughter made it very clear that she wanted nothing more to do with the Tomas." He winced, as if just the thought of his daughter's abandonment hurt him. Then he continued, "Of course, there's always David, but David...well, David doesn't really have enough patience to be vice-head."

Reagan thought back to David's outburst a few minutes earlier, ending with his running out of the room. _Um, yeah. Not really._

The Crusher looked Reagan straight in the eyes. "But now I think I've finally found someone."

Reagan stared at him. "What? Who?" Her eyes widened. "No way. Nuh-uh. You don't mean...um, with all due respect, Mr. Crushen, I love my brother, but I really don't think he's branch vice-head material..."

"I meant you, Reagan."

Reagan's jaw dropped. "_Me?_ Are you joking?"

"Hardly."

Reagan laughed awkwardly. "Me? Branch vice-head? I'm only fourteen!" Her voice rose to a shriller pitch.

Mr. Crushen chuckled. "I'm not _that_ old, Reagan. I won't be retiring for several years. You could be twenty or twenty-one by that time. Plenty of time for you to grow up and train." He smiled. "If you work hard, you could even be branch head someday."

Reagan was speechless.

The Crusher pushed back his chair and stood. "I'll give you some time to think about it. If you're going to stay, though, you'll need to decide quickly." He headed for the door.

Reagan finally found her voice. "But...why me?" she squeaked.

Mr. Crushen turned, his eyes unusually soft for his intimidating stature. "You have something, Reagan," he said. "Some would call it a spark. An aura. You have the potential to be a great leader, someday. You already are."

And with that, Mr. Crushen left the room, leaving Reagan alone.

* * *

><p><strong>I love you guys.<strong>

**Really, I do.**

**I've often seen people who don't update their fic for maybe 2, 3 months, and they get a ton of hate and abuse from their readers. And then there's me, who hasn't updated for six months, and all I get are positive reviews, and people politely messaging me, telling me how much they love this story and if I could please update soon.**

**You don't understand how much that means to me. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that my readers are such amazing people (death threats aside...I'm pretty sure you guys were joking about those...right?)**

**But seriously, thank you so much for staying with this story. I promise you, no matter how long it takes, I will continue updating this story until it's over. I swear on Grace Cahill's grave.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**-Goth Bookworm: Your theories can be neither confirmed nor denied. Wait and see, young grasshopper.**

**-AmianNatan4ever: I don't dance, but I recognize that ballerinas are freaking hardcore. I have a friend who does ballet and she tells me how difficult it is. And good for you for kicking that jerk in the head.  
><strong>

**-Phantomhive Cahill: Am I ever going to write Jamy? How can I put this gently...no.**

**-Cutiekate8: I remember listening to The Reason by Hoobastank back when I first read your review. I agree, great Amian song.**

**-ChicaKabra: I'm not really on the Message Board. I usually just lurk on the Message Board. And as much as I would _love_ to collab on a story with you, as well as all the other people who've asked me this before, but I think I take long enough just updating this story though, don't you?**

**-HPJ-kittycat: Okay.  
><strong>

**Frequently Asked Questions:**

**-_Are you Rick Riordan?_ I wish.**

**-_Are you excited for Day of Doom?_ See below.**

**-_WHERE IS THE AMIAN KISS? _I dunno, ask Amy and Ian.**

**-_Is this Jonead?_ I dunno, as Sinead and Jonah. (In all seriousness, though, I don't know where that's going. Right now, they're just friends.)**

**-_Make this Deagan! _I–**

**-_Don't make this Deagan! _...**

**-_Was the Reagan fencing thing based on Percy and Luke's spar in The Lightning Thief?_ Shhh...**

**-_Please update soon! _Yeah...sorry 'bout that.  
><strong>

**As usual, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I love every single on of you, and I wish I had the time to reply to every review. If you have any questions or anything you really want me to reply to, you can always message me, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!**

**Okay, so real quick. Day of Doom. Don't even get me started. (SPOILERS AHEAD) In a word, I hated it. I don't want to insult anyone who loved it, but in an attempt to keep this brief, I felt like the majority if not all of the characters were out of character, Amy and Jake's romance was horribly forced and Evan and Natalie's deaths were unecessary (especially Evan's, even though I was more sad about Natalie's, just because the only reason for his death was to free Amy up for Jake). There were a hundred other things I hated about DoD, but I won't waste your time talking about them now.**

**On the bright side, though, Jude Watson is writing the first book for Unstoppable, and I have faith in her. So we'll see how that goes.**

**So like I said before, this fic will get updated. I promise.**

**I love you all. xoxo**

**-KT**


	37. Chapter 37

**Don't hate me.**

**I think I broke my personal record for longest time between updates.**

**I am truly, truly sorry. I've had so much on my plate the past year, and whenever I even thought of trying to write more for this story it stressed me out. I read all 36 chapters before writing this one tonight (some of it I had already written), and some of the unresolved plot points made my stomach twist. But I did the best I could with what I had, and hopefully you guys aren't still waiting to find out why Dan mysteriously went to the library in chapter 6 because I wrote that like a million years ago and I have no freaking clue where I was going with that.**

**If you don't remember what's going on, I'd say at least reread the last chapter. Hopefully that's enough to refresh your memories.**

**Without further ado, let's continue our story.**

* * *

><p>"Right down this road," Ted directed. The Madrigal agent driving the Subaru nodded and turned down a narrow dirt road. The other agents sitting in the back were quiet.<p>

_I would think that the Madrigals got the silent gene_, he thought, _if I didn't know Dan Cahill._

They went over a small bump, and Ted remembered being in the back of the kidnapper's van and feeling that bump.

The Madrigal agent, who had introduced himself to Ted earlier as Zonner, parked the car in a clump of trees about two hundred meters away from the bunker-like building. Zonner was a large, African-American man with a bald head and military-set shoulders. "Okay," he said to Ted, "where's Nellie Gomez's cell door?"

Ted adjusted his glasses on his nose and squinted through the darkness. "Well," he said slowly, "my cell door was there, and her cell was adjacent to mine, so her door should be...that one there." Ted pointed to the door.

"Good," Zonner said. He handed something to Ted. "Here. Take this."

"Thanks, what is..." Ted looked down at the object, "...whoa!" He juggled the gun that the agent had placed in his hand before he grasped onto it firmly. "Um...what's this for?"

The Madrigal pulled out his own gun and clicked off the safety. "Nellie knows you, so you go first with Christina." He nodded at one of the agents sitting in the back, a young woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes. "While the rest of us sneak around the back, she'll subdue the guard, and you'll take the keys and get Nellie out of there and back here to the car."

Ted realized something. "Sir, how will you all get out of here?"

Zonner gestured at the rearview mirror, and Ted saw a small car parked a few yards behind them. "That's your ride," he said as an agent climbed out of the car and walked to the Subaru. The agent pulled open the car door and handed the keys to Christina, then said to Zonner, "Are we set?"

Zonner nodded. "Let's go."

The agents silently exited the vehicle. Christina and Ted went first, slipping from shadow to shadow until they were directly across from the guard sitting outside of Nellie's cell. His chin was resting on his chest, and he appeared to be asleep.

Ted gave Christina a questioning look, and she shook her head at him, then gestured for him to stay where he was. Quietly, she slipped out of the shadows and made her way around the guard. She got behind him and sent a swift chop to the back of his neck, making sure he was unconscious. She looked up and nodded in Ted's general direction, for she couldn't see exactly where he was standing in the darkness.

Ted moved quickly out of the shadows and to where the unconscious guard and Christina were. The female Madrigal had unclipped the guard's key ring from his belt.

She cursed under her breath. "There's got to be fifty keys here!" she whispered.

Ted quickly glanced at the lock on the door to the cell, then looked back at the key ring. He pinched a small, silver key. "It's this one," he said, taking the key ring from Christina.

She looked at him in surprise as he moved to the door. "How do you know...?"

"It matches the lock." Ted inserted the key in the lock and twisted it. The lock clicked, and the door swung open.

Ted ran into the cell. "Nellie! It's Ted!" he whispered.

Through the dim light Ted saw Nellie sit up.

"Yes!" she cheered, raising her rope-bound wrists in celebration. "I was about to go crazy from sitting in here with no music." She paused. "Also, they haven't fed me since I got here. But the music thing has been bothering me more."

"Didn't I cut you free of those ropes?" Ted asked, crossing the cell.

Nellie huffed. "Yeah, and I tried to hide it from them, but someone came in and noticed, then tied me up again." She grinned. "I nailed him with a good kick before he left, though. Felt pretty good."

Ted pulled his knife out of his pocket and began working at the rope around Nellie's wrists. Christina stood in the doorway, keeping watch.

Finally, the frayed rope fell to the floor. Nellie rubbed her wrists. "Thanks," she said. "Let's get out of here."

The two of them quickly exited the cell. The moment they stepped out the door, shots rang out from nearby.

"Get down!" Christina yelled. The three hit the ground as bullets shot over their heads. Christina shot at the figures who had appeared from around the building, and they quickly dodged back around the corner. She jumped to her feet.

"Come on," she urged. "They won't stay away for long."

Ted and Nellie jumped up and sprinted after the Madrigal agent towards the car. Behind them, more shots rang out as the other Madrigal agents returned fire.

Ted dove into the passenger seat as Christina jammed the keys into the ignition. Nellie climbed into the back.

The engine turned over once, twice, three times...

Christina cursed loudly, slamming her hand on the dashboard. "It won't start!"

"Duck!" Ted yelled, pulling her down as a bullet smashed through the driver's side window.

Christina looked at Ted with wide eyes. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Ted said, feeling out of breath. He looked up and saw several figures running towards their car.

Christina tried the engine again. "Come on, you stupid car!"

When the figures were only a few yards away from the car, the engine roared to life.

"Yes!" Christina shouted. Nellie whooped, and Ted let out a sigh of relief. Christina made the car make a sharp hairpin turn, nearly knocking down a few of the figures in the process. Once it was turned around, Christina stomped on the gas pedal, and the car shot down the dirt road, leaving the hostile figures in their dust.

* * *

><p>It was as if she had never been in jail.<p>

Perfect hair, as usual. Perfect makeup, as usual. Perfect outfit, as usual.

Isabel Kabra had not changed a bit.

She walked over to Ian, her heels clicking against the metal floor.

"Dear me, Ian," she sighed, "you've lost some weight. Have you been eating right?" She held his face with one hand, her nails digging into his cheeks.

Ian jerked his head away. "Like you care," he snapped.

Isabel pouted. "Oh, but I do!" she insisted. "I've missed you and your sister so much these past few years, while I was rotting away in jail. I cherished every time you phoned me."

Ian rolled his eyes. Neither he nor Natalie ever phoned Isabel in jail.

Isabel continued. "But I have found a new family now. A better family. I now see that a Cahill can never yield ultimate power as long as there are other branches to tear them down."

"The Cahills are learning to work together—"

Isabel laughed. "Ha! Don't tell me those Madrigals have actually been feeding you those lies about peace between the branches? We Cahills are a stubborn bunch. You honestly believe that after five hundred years, everyone is just suddenly going to get along just because a group of children from the various branches decided to become good chums?" Isabel shook her head, a look of disgust on her face as she looked at the boy who had used to be her son. "I raised you to be smarter than that, Ian."

"I'm not the boy you raised anymore," Ian said stiffly, staring straight ahead.

Isabel began circling him. "Yes, I can see that. You've grown up, dear. Still breaking hearts, like always, I assume?" She stopped in front of them again. "You still fancy that Amy Cahill?"

Ian said nothing.

"Mm. That's what I thought." Isabel continued circling him. "How is Natalie? Is she healthy? Has she been eating well?"

Ian turned his head to glare at her. "Stop pretending that you care about Natalie and me and tell me why you've brought me here."

Isabel smiled coldly. "That, my dear, is yet to be determined." She glanced up at Rose, who had been standing quietly this whole time. Rose gave her a small nod, then tapped her watch.

Isabel sighed dramatically. "Well, it's been a lovely chat; but I really must be off. Perhaps I'll come visit later." She headed for the door, with Rose trailing behind her.

"You said 'we'."

Isabel turned. "Pardon?"

Ian stared at her, his face expressionless. "You said, 'We Cahills are a stubborn bunch'. I thought you said you weren't a Cahill anymore."

Isabel's uncaring expression changed for a moment, an emotion fleeting across the beautiful features of her face far too fast for Ian to distinguish it. Then she said, "Unfortunately, being a Cahill was something I was born into. What I said was that I have found another family–that is, another family has found me. They accept me despite my...unfortunate lineage."

And with that, she and Rose exited the room, leaving Ian alone.

In the hallway, Rose turned to Isabel. "I had to drink the water," she said. "He wasn't going to—"

"Of course he wasn't going to drink the water," Isabel snapped, obviously distracted. "Do you think that I raised him to be an idiot?" She turned. "Go take the antidote before the ten minutes is up. I can't have you fainting on me now."

"Yes, ma'am," Rose said, turning and running down the hall.

Isabel turned back to the door of the room Ian was in, which contained a one-way mirror in it that allowed her to he him but not the other way around.

"Soon, my dear," she whispered. "You may not join me today, but soon, you will see no other option."

In the room, Ian was trying to collect his thoughts, but he found himself feeling slightly dizzy. Dark spots clouded his vision, and after a minute he realized the awful truth—he had been drugged.

Fighting to stay conscious, Ian struggled against the bonds that tied him to the chair, to no avail. The darkness came down on him like a black curtain, and his chin slumped to his chest as he fell unconscious.

Isabel watched his head fall, and she smiled. It was only a matter of time before phase two could begin.

"Soon," she repeated. "Very, very soon."

* * *

><p>Sinead Starling knew heaven was supposed to be pure and white, but she never imagined that heaven it would be so white.<p>

Her eyes fluttered open, and the first thought that came to her was, _I'm dead._

Her vision was fuzzy, but she could make out vague objects around her. If she really was in heaven, she hoped that God would forgive her for never going to Sunday school.

Sinead turned her head to the side, and as her vision cleared, she saw tubes coming out of her right arm. A heart rate monitor beeped softly nearby.

_Hospital_, she realized. _I'm in a hospital_.

Images from before came rushing back to her in high-definition—Jonah's concert, the call from Ned, seeing the man in the crowd.

_I was dead. At least, I thought I was._

Sinead suddenly became aware of a figure slouched in a chair by the wall. Jonah's gold "bling" glinted from the fluorescent lights of the hospital room, rising and falling with Jonah's steady breathing as he slept. Sinead observed that he was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing at the concert.

_How long have I been out?_ she thought. _Has he been here the whole time?_

She shifted her body to sit upright, then winced as a sharp pain shot through her stomach, like someone jabbed her with a red-hot poker.

She sucked in a sharp breath, then fell back against the pillows, just as a nurse entered the room.

"Oh, good!" she exclaimed, bustling over to the chart at the end of the bed and making a mark on the paper. "You're awake!"

"How long was I unconscious?" Sinead asked, making another attempt to sit up. She yelped as the pain shot through her stomach again.

"You'll probably not want to sit up right away," the nurse said. "You lost a lot of blood. We had to stitch up the wound."

"How long was I out?" Sinead repeated.

"18 hours." The nurse nodded in Jonah's direction. "He's hardly left that spot since we let him in. Usually we don't let people in except during visiting hours, but..." She shrugged. "He's Jonah Wizard."

Sinead silently chuckled at the idea of Jonah pulling the "do you know who I am" on the poor nurse who tried to get him to leave.

"Sinead?"

Sinead blinked. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said," the nurse said patiently, "would you like for me to wake him up?"

Sinead shook her head. "Let him sleep. He's probably exhausted."

The nurse nodded. "I'll go get you something to eat," she said, turning and exiting the room.

Sinead sighed and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>Amy zipped her backpack shut and swung it over her shoulder.<p>

_My fault,_ she thought to herself, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. _He's gone, and it's my fault._

She stepped into the hallway just as Dan was exiting his room next to hers. He gave her one look and said, "It's not your fault."

Amy dropped her head. "How did you know that's what I was thinking?"

"Because I know you. And I know you like to take responsibility for everything and everyone, and then blame yourself when something goes wrong."

"But I shouldn't have let him go alone," she said, frustrated. "I should have—"

"Ian's a big boy. He can take care of himself. No one would've seen it coming." Dan looked at his feet. "Besides, if you'd gone with him, they might've taken you, too."

Amy smiled and slung an arm over her brother's shoulder. "C'mon. The others are probably at the exit already."

The siblings walked down several halls until they finally reached the place where they had first entered the stronghold. Natalie stood to one side of the door, sniffling softly, her eyes red. Hamilton and Madison stood awkwardly on the other side of the door, looking uncomfortable.

"Where's Reagan?" Amy asked, shooting a worried glance at Natalie before looking at the Holts.

Madison shrugged. "Mr. Crushen wanted to talk to her. I don't know if it was about Ian or—" She cringed as Natalie let out a small whimper.

To everyone's surprise, Dan went over to Natalie. "It's gonna be okay, Nat," he said, hesitating for a second and then putting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him. I promise."

Natalie looked up at him. "You promise?"

Dan grinned. "Cross my heart."

Natalie sniffed. "That's a ridiculous expression," she said, some of her usual haughtiness returning to her voice.

"Yeah, well," Dan said. "I didn't think you'd want to shake on it."

Natalie shuddered, remembering how Dan spit into his hand the last time they were going to shake hands. "No, thank you."

Suddenly, Reagan came around the corner. Dan quickly dropped his hand from Natalie's shoulder.

"Reagan!" Amy said. "Where's your bag?"

Reagan looked at the floor, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She mumbled something.

"What?" Madison took a step towards Reagan. "What'd you say?"

"I'm not coming," Reagan said softly.

"What?!" everyone exclaimed.

Reagan quickly explained what Mr. Crusher had told her about being vice branch head.

When she finished, Hamilton spoke up. "But why's he pick you?" he asked, sounding slightly insulted.

Reagan shrugged.

"What about Ian?" Natalie asked softly. "Are you going to abandon us, just like that?"

"I'm not abandoning you," Reagan argued. "If anything, I'm helping. Jonah's got the Janus branch behind us, Ian and Natalie have the Lucians, Amy has the Madrigals, and we have Alistair on our side with the Ekats. Tomas is the only branch that we don't have an assured alliance with. If I'm here, I can be the inside source, and maybe be able to call the Tomas to action if they're ever needed."

Amy had to admit, Reagan had a point. They needed the Tomas branch behind them, and Mr. Crushen obviously had things on his mind other than one kidnapped teenager, among other things.

Amy suddenly realized that everyone was waiting for her to speak. _When did I become the one with final say?_ she thought.

She took a deep breath. "Okay," she said.

Reagan looked relieved. She was probably worried Amy would try to talk her out of it. Dan had other ideas, however.

"Wait, hold up," he said, turning to his sister. "So that's it? You're just going to let her stay?"

"I can't tell her what to do," Amy said. "And her plan makes sense."

"We're losing a crucial member of our team!" he argued.

"You're not losing me," Reagan cut in. "I'm just going to handle things from this end. Let me do this, Dan."

Dan looked up at her. Finally, he let out a breath. "Fine." He turned away as the others moved forward to say their goodbyes. He stepped aside as they moved past him, though the door and up the stairs to the surface.

"Don't be mad at me," Reagan said. Dan turned to face her and realized he was the only one left.

"I'm not mad," he said. He cracked a grin. "You're gonna be a good, uh, vice branch head."

Reagan laughed. "I'm not gonna be that yet," she said. "I'm only training."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you'll be good at that, too."

They stood in silence for several seconds.

"Well," Reagan finally said, "I should probably go convince the Crusher to send out some agents to help find Ian."

"Yeah," Dan replied, "I should probably go…um, go."

Reagan smiled, and offered up her fist. "Good luck, Dan."

Dan bumped his fist with hers. "You, too."

* * *

><p>Once upon a time, Sinead Starling would have loved the idea of being waited on hand and foot by her brothers. Now, she wanted nothing more than to be able to get her own glass of water when she wanted one.<p>

Not that she wasn't physically capable of getting her own beverage. But every time she even shifted her position on the couch in a way that would imply an intention of getting up, Ned, Ted, Jonah, or some combination of the three would suddenly appear, asking her what she wanted and insisting that she should just lie down and rest.

It had been like that ever since they returned home from the hospital. Sinead didn't know who was worse, her overprotective brothers or the guilt-ridden Jonah. She perked up when her phone buzzed and Amy's name came on the screen. (Ted offered to answer it for her, to which the annoyed Sinead yelled, "I CAN ANSWER MY PHONE WITHOUT INJURING MYSELF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.")

"You do not know how relieved I am to talk to someone who hasn't offered to carry me to the bathroom," Sinead said after answering.

Amy's chuckle came through the phone. "I would definitely offer to if I wasn't in South Africa right now."

"Thanks," Sinead said with mock gratitude. "What's up? How's everyone?"

"Not great," Amy said, her tone becoming serious. "Ian's gone missing."

Sinead bolted upright, then quickly regretted the action as a pain shot up her side. "Missing? When? How?" From across the room, Ted looked up from his book.

Amy gave Sinead a rundown of what had happened. "And now Mr. Crushen is sending us to London, on a completely different mission," she finished. "In fact, I'm not even one-hundred percent sure I understand the mission. If I didn't know any better, I would think he's trying to get us out of the way." She paused. "Honestly, I don't think he wants to be bothered with Ian's disappearance. He still has a prejudice against Lucians, especially the Kabras. He probably thinks Ian went and joined Isabel and the Vespers."

Sinead pursed her lips. "Do you think that?"

"_No_," Amy said without hesitation. "He hates Isabel. And besides, he wouldn't leave Natalie." Someone said something to Amy, too muffled for Sinead to hear, though it sounded like Dan. "Hey, Sinead, I have to go. We're about to head to the airport. I'll call you when we land in London."

"Okay," Sinead said. "Anything I can do?"

"Rest," Amy said.

Sinead made a face. "That's what everyone's telling me to do. I've had enough resting. I want to kick some Vesper butt."

Amy laughed. "I think you symbolically kicked some Vesper butt when you saved Jonah from that bullet. They told you that he probably would have died if the bullet hit where it was aimed at him, right? I talked to Fiske earlier."

Sinead sighed. "Yeah, and now Jonah feels all guilty. He made me waffles this morning. I didn't even know we had waffle batter in the kitchen."

"Coming, Dan! Sorry, Sinead, I really have to run. Enjoy the attention, you deserve it. I'll talk to you soon."

"Be safe," Sinead said. "Don't be an idiot like me."

"I won't, I'll just try to be brave like you." Sinead could hear Amy's smile through the phone. "Bye."

"Bye."

Sinead hung up with a sigh. Ted watched her quietly.

Sinead looked up. "Ted, could you get me a lemonade and a crossword puzzle, please?"

Ted jumped to his feet. "Definitely! Be right back." He sprinted out of the room.

Sinead relaxed back onto her pillows. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

><p>Dan rocked with the motion of the Hummer as Hamilton drove over the bumpy road. Everyone was quiet; the only sounds were the engine and the occasional exclamation from Hamilton every time the Hummer went over a particularly nasty bump.<p>

"STOP!"

Everyone's heads snapped around to look at Natalie. Hamilton slammed on the breaks, looking around on the road to see if he had been about to hit something. Seeing nothing, he too turned to look at the girl.

"What?" he asked. "What happened?"

Natalie's eyes were wide. She was staring forward, her eyes focused on nothing, her mind somewhere far away. "South Africa," she said. "We're in South Africa."

Amy exchanged a worried glance with Dan.

"Did she hit her head?" Madison asked.

"I'm not deaf," Natalie snapped. "And I wasn't hit anywhere." Her face went back to its look of concentration. "Mum…I mean, Isabel, used to mention a place in South Africa. Ian and I used to assume it was a Lucian stronghold, but she and our father would talk about it like it was just a Kabra place." Natalie looked at Amy. "If it was Isabel who took Ian, I think…no, I'm _sure_ that's where they are."

Dan looked doubtful. "Do you think she would go someplace where you would think to find her?"

Natalie shook her head quickly. "That's just it. I didn't think to find her there. I mean, not at first. They never spoke of it directly to Ian or me, and not often in our presence, especially not when we were older. I wouldn't have even remembered it if I hadn't been going through some old files lately." She paused, then nodded, as if convincing herself. "I just need to make one call. I can get someone to check those files and find the exact location." Her eyes lit up. "Then we can go save Ian!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," said Hamilton from the driver's seat. "We're supposed to be heading to London. Don't you think we should give this info to the Crusher, and get him to send some agents to check it out?"

Natalie glared at Hamilton. "Mr. Crushen doesn't care about Ian. He thinks Ian deserted us and joined the Vespers."

"Natalie, that's not true," Amy said, not very convincingly.

"Yes, it is," Natalie said, her voice rising. "But he didn't. I know he didn't. So do you. If we tell Mr. Crushen, he'll just tell us to stick with our mission and go to London. He might even send some agents to make sure we don't try to go after Ian. He thinks it's a lost cause. But I know my brother isn't a lost cause." Her voice was almost at a shriek. "_We have to save him_."

Amy reached out and grabbed the shaking girl's hands. "It's okay, it's okay," she said softly, waiting for Natalie to calm down. After a moment, she said, "Okay. Make your call." She looked at the others. "We're going to find Ian."

* * *

><p><strong>Here I am apologizing again. But mostly I'd just like to thank you, all of you, for sticking with this story so far. I started it when I was 13 and about to start high school. I starting writing it because I couldn't wait for Vespers Rising to come out. This was before I even know this site existed, before I had any contact with any other people in this fandom besides a few of my friends who read the books, too. Now I'm 17 and a senior in high school, and I still love these books and these characters as much as ever. You guys have always been so kind and patient with my erratic updates and crappy writing from the start. Every time I get a message asking me when I'm going to update, it both stresses me out and makes me really happy. But let's concentrate on the happy part.<strong>

**Anyway, I probably say this every time, but I am always so grateful for how kind you all always are to me. And I wish I could promise you updates more often in return for your kindness, but I don't want to make you any promises I can't keep. But I am determined to finish this story, even if there are a dozen plot holes (most of which already exist).**

**I'm gonna reply to some reviews now because why break tradition?  
><strong>

**Response to Reviews:**

**(Note: I'm only replying to those that were reviews of Chapter 36, although I got a bunch from people who just joined the party and reviewed chapters as they went, so if you are one of those people, hello and welcome to the party)  
><strong>**39cluesfan675: Abracadabra I updated wow it's a Christmas miracle  
><strong>

**AwesomeAbbyLikesMusic:** **I'm really glad you appreciate the non-romantic parts, too. I love romance as much as the next fangirl, but I enjoy writing the other parts as well. And WOOO THEATRE PEOPLE UNITE  
><strong>**Guest of awesome: I don't really have a response for your review it just made me happy thank you**  
><strong>Songbird6802: To answer your question I definitely ship Amian more than Natan I never liked Natan although I ship their bromance 100%<br>**

**cookie cahill: You are also amazing and awesome  
><strong>**questions: 1. Amy is worried about Ian because hE WAS FREAKING KIDNAPPED. 2. Rose is my middle name, KT is really just for Katie which is my name lmao. 3. Jamy is icky.  
><strong>

**theharrypotterworld: Yeah I haven't decided if I'm against Deagan either idk man sometimes the story just kind of takes over and before I know it I'm writing something that resembles Deagan**

**bluester007: I can't guarantee a quick update after this but here's this one for now! **

**Cutiekate8: Yes same I hated Day of Doom so much let's not speak of it let's pretend it never happened what Day of Doom what's that idk**

**Clouded Harmony: Who knows how long this will go? Planning is not a word in my vocabulary  
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**And to everyone who reviewed I love you all I can't get over how lovely you all are with your reviews you all are my favorite people ever**

**Maybe I'll be able to sneak in another chapter before my winter break is over? We'll see, no promises. For all I know, you all have completely forgot about me and this story. You'll get the notification that it's been updated and be like what who is this person KTRose12 probably some weirdo**

**Okay it's almost 2AM and I'm babbling, thank you all again for sticking with me, and I really appreciate your continued support. I write for you guys. Reviews are always appreciated, even just to know someone's still reading.  
><strong>

**Love,**

**KT**


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